Book 1: The Lion of Durin
by Rogue-Lion
Summary: During Simba's youth, he and his friends leave the oasis and wander Middle Earth. Found and raised by Thorin Oakinshield, Simba has found a new home and a new life among the dwarves. Yet as they set off to retake their homeland, he meets a hobbit who teaches the lost prince the value of home. Little does he know that dark forces are at work in both Middle Earth and the Pride Lands.
1. Prologue

**Hello there. I cannot express my excitement with this. I have been wanting to do this story for so, so long! I was inspired by a Lion King crossover with Lord of the Rings fanfic I read a long time ago. Only unlike that one, I'll utilize all of _BOTH_ movie casts! Not just the lions. I know it probably isn't the most popular thing to look up and will most likely not get many reviews due to it's crossover status... but by golly I've got a fire burning in my belly to get this out to the public and that's what I'm going to do!**

**Chapters may be slow, but if you ever fantasized a Pride Lands in Middle Earth, Rafiki as a Blue wizard, or Simba being ridden by a dwarf, then this story will have it all! I'm just going to stop talking and let this first chapter speak for itself. If you're not familiar with J. R. Tolken or his works, then hopefully this story will still be relatively easy to follow. Whether you're a hobbit or a lion king fan, I'm hoping to give the** **best of both worlds in this extraviganza of a** **story.**

**With that being said guys, Enjoy!**

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_**Prologue: The Unexpected Story**_

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Middle Earth… a place of wonder and beauty; of adventure and fantasy; of light… and darkness. Far to the north, beyond the fields and woodlands, beyond mountains and deserts, lies a land untouched by the world of the Free Peoples of Middle Earth. It is a land of mystery and fairytale; a land that elves sing in their songs and children hear at night when they are tucked in to bed. It is a place where creatures commune in harmony together; a place where the sun burns like a desert, but the land is as lush as a well-kept field in Rohan. This is a land where Nature rules in peace, and where legendary creatures first came from before setting out to make homes all throughout Middle Earth. It has many names, but in the common tongue it is known as the Pride Lands; and it is here that our story begins.

The savanna was filled with a bright orange light from the beautiful morning sunrise. The birds were singing, the gazelles and wildebeest were grazing in the fields, and all was right in the world. There was a time however when this wasn't so. Once, not to long ago, these lands were ruled by a tyrannical king and his hoard of dark followers; but the lost son of Mufasa, who was long thought dead, had returned and reclaimed his rightful birthright as Lion King and restored the lands to its natural state of life. Any animal living in the Pride Lands knew these tales were that of the great King Simba: Slayer of a hundred hyenas, rogue from the lands beyond, a steed of a once great king of the Free Peoples of Middle Earth. Many scoffed at such claims, believing that the royal Domo, a hornbill bird named Zazu, was merely making up false tales of unbelievable exploits in order to bolster the reputation of his new master, but three young ones in the Pride Lands knew better, and today was the day they would see for themselves if those rumors were true.

"This is the place?" a golden cub with a small sleek red patch of fur on his head asked as he peered out from behind a bolder.

"Yep. This is it. I'm sure of it." Confirmed another golden cub with a brown patch of fur hanging over his forehead, who sat next to him.

Both cubs peered out behind the large rock at the cave before them. This certain cave was located some ways away from Pride Rock and stood out alone in the vast grassy savanna. It seemed like an odd, inconspicuous place for a rock formation to be, yet here it was. The brown haired cub, named Kopa, and the red haired cub, called Kion, were brothers and both of them were the sons of the Lion King, Simba. They, like all the others who lived in the Pride Lands, heard the tale of how their mother, Nala, found Simba in the wild and had convinced him to come back and take his place as king. And though their father had indeed told them the truth of his adventures… they had a feeling that he had not told them all of it.

"I swear, Kopa." Kion groaned, "You better not be wasting my time with this. I've better things to do then-"

"I promise, Kion." Kopa responded, "I've seen dad come out here, like, five times this past week here to this very cave."

"Uh-huh." Kion said skeptically, "and you believe that this is where we'll find proof that there is more behind Dad's stories then he is telling us?" Kopa gave his brother a happy nod in response. Kion honestly had better things to do then go prying around his father's personal life, he was after all the leader of the Lion Guard, but Kopa was so bent on proving to everyone that his father was everything Zazu said he was. He tried asking Simba directly about it, but Simba merely said that he would tell them everything when they were a bit older. Kion naturally complied with his father's request, but Kopa would not give up so easily.

One day, he heard from Zazu that Simba had stored items and trophies from his past life in a den somewhere in the Pride Lands. Kopa spent an entire week searching around Pride Rock for this place calling it, The Treasure Den, but had no luck; that was until he began stalking his father around the Pride Lands. It was boring at first, following him to disputes and meetings with the other animals of the land, but every once in a while he would go to this one cave that was out in the middle of nowhere. He would then enter in, stay in there for an hour or so, then leave. Kopa knew in his heart that this had to have been the place that Zazu had told him about, but he would not go in just yet, he wanted his brother to see it with him.

"Come on, Kion. Let's go!" Kopa said as he hopped out from behind the bolder and started bolting towards the den, laughing as he ran.

"Whoah! Kopa, wait!" Kion called after him. Sometimes his brother would leap into situations before thinks, which annoyed him to no end, "What if Dad comes back?"

"He left just a few minutes ago," Kopa replied as he waited for his brother to catch up to him, "We are in the clear." Kopa was always the optimist of the two, but still Kion found that being extra careful never hurt either.

"I'm not too sure about this." Kion said as he caught up with his brother and they both began to slowly walk towards the den together.

"Don't worry," Kopa assured him, "Mom's out hunting and Dad should be heading back to Pride Rock as we speak. No one knows we are out here."

"Kopa! Kion!" the brothers cringed as they heard a high-pitched girly voice call out behind them, "Wait for me!"

Looking back, the boys groaned in unison as they saw their sister, Kiara come bounding towards them gleefully through the tall grass. She was the only other person in all the Pride Lands who loved listening to their father's stories as much as they did, but they found that she could be very annoying at times. She's so emotional, loud, and most importantly… she's a girl.

Looking at his brother with a stern glare, Kopa seethed through gritted teeth, "You invited Kiara to come with us?!"

"No!" Kion whispered back, "I thought you invited her."

"Hey guys!" Kiara greeted as she sat in front of her brothers, her face beaming with glee, while they just looked at each other in annoyance of her presence. That was when they noticed the rope in Kiara mouth. On the end dragged a little wooden statue of a lion, a toy that Kiara liked to call 'Mr. Fluffy.' It was a toy their parents had given them when they were really little. Kopa and Kion grew out of it very quickly, but Kiara remained attached to the toy and would bring him everywhere she went.

"What are you doing here, Kiara?" Kopa asked with an exasperated sigh.

"I saw you both leaving Pride Rock, so me and Mr. Fluffy decided to follow you." Kiara replied innocently before asking with a wide smile, "What are you up to?"

"Nothing!" both brothers said at the same time with serious tones, but their sister wasn't buying it.

"Oh really?" Kiara questioned, looking past them to the den behind them. "What's in there?"

"Um…" Kopa scratched the back of his head, trying to think of something to say so that Kiara would go away and leave them alone. Before he could, however, Kion ruined any chance they had at getting rid of her.

"Kopa here claims he found the so called Treasure Den." Kion said nonchalantly, "Want to come check it out with us?"

"_The_ Treasure Den?!" Whatever joy Kiara had when she found her brothers had just been multiplied by ten. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Of course I want to come!" Her entire body shook with excitement as she began jumping up and down with glee upon hearing the news. Kopa on the other hand was looking at his brother with a stern glare as if to say, 'What have you done?'

"What?" Kion asked innocently, "I don't see the harm with letting her tag along with us. Besides, if we did send her away, she would probably just tell everyone where we are and then none of us will get to see what's inside." Kopa hated to admit it, but Kion was right. Better to endure their annoying sister's tormenting child-ness rather than alert the entire Pride Lands to their presence.

"Fine," Kopa groaned, "Now let's go. Last one in is a hyena butt!" Immediately, all three cubs rushed inside the den.

At first. Everything was dark and it seemed as though there was nothing here but rocks and stalagmites. Kiara clutched onto her Mr. Fluffy, hoping that having him beside her would make the darkness less scary. Kion just gave Kopa a stern glare, seeing nothing but darkness in this long narrow passageway of a cave. Kopa, all the while, was grinning from ear to ear as he pressed on ahead of the others, eager to see what was at the end of the tunnel. After a few moments of walking, they saw a small light flicker up ahead.

"Hey, what's that?" Kiara asked, noticing the light. Kopa and Kion immediately darted towards it. "Hey wait for me guys!" Kiara called out as she tried to catch up with them. As all three cubs made it to the end, they were in awe at what they saw.

They entered a room, dimly lit from a small candle that sat upon a stone pillar at the end of the room, but despite the room being so dimly lit, the cubs could easily see the contents that flickered in the shadows of the candle.

"Wow…" all three cubs gasped in unison as they walked around the room and observed everything that it had to offer. In one corner of the room stood an armor stand, holding strange chest plates, swords, and gauntlets, and strange glittery rocks were scattered across the entire floor. Statues of strange looking creatures encircled the entire outskirts of the room, and even the very walls and ceiling had strange symbols carved into them.

"What did I tell you? The Treasure Den is real!" Kopa smiled as he made his way over to the armor stands. Never before had he seen anything like it. The armor was golden and had strange symbols and scratch marks all over it, and what was weird was that in front of the armor laid not swords but strangely shaped gauntlets. In the dim light of the room Kopa could barely make it out, but the gauntlets had bronze color to them and were wrapped with leather straps. Though the gauntlets themselves were way too big to try on, Kopa was still curious as to what they were, since he had never seen one before. He taped the side of one of them, but was startled as three long blades suddenly jolted out of the front. Kopa regained his composure when he saw that it was not really alive, but he then noticed how the blades made the gauntlet seem like giant claws to a paw. It seemed like it was almost… made for a lion to wear.

"Well Kopa," Kion grinned, "That's the last time I'll ever doubt you." He said as he admired the paintings and symbols around the room. "I wonder what these symbols mean."

"Maybe these guys know?" Kiara said as she walked up to one of the statues in the room and began to talk to it. "Excuse me, but do you know what the writings on the wall mean?" Of course there was no response, but Kiara couldn't help but gaze at the figure before her. Though it was only a statue made of stone, it was like no other creature she had ever seen before in her life. He stood on two legs, sort of like a monkey but straighter, he had hair all over his head like a lion that ran down behind his head and over his shoulder, yet he had a face… a stoic, cold stern face.

"It's made of rock, Kiara." Kion scoffed, "It can't say anything."

Suddenly a loud voice erupted throughout the room.

_** "WHO DARES ENTER MY DOMAIN!"** _

It was so powerful that it sent a strong gust of wind blowing through, snuffing out the candle light and sending a chill down all of the cub's backs. All three cubs screamed and ran to where the candle was once lit and huddled together in fear for their lives. They shivered as they heard heavy footsteps creep closer and closer towards them. Suddenly, the candle was once again relit and a figure of a smiling mandrill leaning on his staff appeared out of the darkness.

"Rafiki!" Kiara cried as she ran towards the shaman and wrapped her paws around his leg, fresh tears streaming down her face.

"Shhh..." Rafiki soothed, patting the young cub's head to console her "tis alright, Princess. I did not know it twas you." He then picked up his head and looked at the two princes, who were now giving him a sheepish grin.

"H-Hey Rafiki." Kopa stuttered, not knowing what else to say. Rafiki just shook his head in amusement.

"You three mind telling ol' Rafiki what you are doing all de way out here in de middle of nowhere?" It wasn't long before Kopa explained to the shaman the full reason to their coming to the cave, to which Rafiki just smiled. "I knew it would only be a matter of time until curiosity got the better of you three." Rafiki sighed.

"We're sorry, Rafiki sir." Kion apologized, wanting to be on the shaman's good side.

"Yeah, sorry." Kiara chimed in, "We just really wanted to know more about Daddy's stories."

"But he has told you them." Rafiki chuckled, "Many times in fact!"

"But he never told us about all of _this_." Kopa said, gesturing to the items within the room. "Weird writings, statues of strange creatures, some hard things that have built in claws in them; none of that was ever in Dad's stories. What is all of this?" Rafiki let out a long sigh. He knew that one day this would have happened, where Simba's children would become curious about what truly took place all those years ago. Seeing as how it was practically impossible to hide it at this point, the shaman decided to share with them the true tales of Simba's past life.

"Your right, Kopa." he said, "There is more to the story."

"I knew it!" exclaimed Kopa in triumph, "Tell us what really happened, Rafiki!"

"Yeah Mr. Rafiki." Kiara pleaded, holding up her toy lion with her paws to show him, "Mr. Fluffy wants to know what really happened too. Please tell us the story. Please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease!"

"You know they are not going to stop until you tell them." Kion said as he shook his head, thinking that his siblings were acting so immature.

"Oh?" Rafiki gave the red haired prince a sly smile as he stroked the white strand of hair on his chin, "Well if you feel as though you don't want to hear it then you can just go back home now."

"N-No!" Kion abruptly exclaimed, before recomposing himself, "I mean… I would like to hear the story too… if that's alright with you?" Knowing that this was going to be one wild tale, Rafiki went to the stone pillar, picked up the candle and began to walk to the center of the room; gesturing for his cubs to follow him.

"Come, come." He said as he and the children gathered around the small flickering candle that stood in the center of the room, "Get comfortable, for dis is going to be a long and amazing tale. It began in a land far to the east. Past the Pride Lands, past the Great Desert, past the wildest of wildernesses. In a place, that few ever see in the world today, there thrived a kingdom ruled by dwarves."

"Dwarves?" Kion asked, not understanding. He had never heard of such a creature.

"Yes," Rafiki explained, "Middle Earth, de land that makes up de world that we live in today, is inhabited by many creatures. Elves, men, and dwarves are just some of these creatures. Men are kind of like myself, except they stand up straight, grow taller, and live in homes that they build out of their surroundings. Elves are like men, except they have long flowing hair and have pointy ears. They tend to live in de more woodland parts of Middle Earth, and are immortal."

"Imortal?!" Kiara exclaimed with amazement.

"Yes Kiara," Rafiki chuckled as he pet her head, "They never grow old, and never die unlike us mortal beings."

"But you told us that lions of the Pride Lands were gifted with unnatural long lives, that we could live for centuries." Kopa pointed out, "So are they like us?"

"Not exactly…" Rafiki explained to his eager listener, "Though you are a special breed of lions who can live for long periods of time, elves can live to be thousands upon thousands of years old. Ten times that of any lion."

"Wow…" all three cubs said in unison.

"Finally," continued the shaman, "there is de race of the dwarves. They are like de race of men, but are fairly shorter and live in de mountains and hill countries, and just like you lions they can live for centuries. One such dwarf, took your father in when he was about your age and raised him like he was a part of his family." Rafiki's eyes then looked back at one of the 13 statues that were in the room; the one that was in the very center and directed the other cubs to look at him. "His name was Thorin Oakenshield, and just like your father, he was a king who had been driven from his homeland at a young age."

"A king like Dad?!" Kion repeated in amazement as he looked up at the imposing figure. Even though it was only stone, it did have a sort of regal appearance.

"Where was he originally from?" Kopa asked, pride in his voice from hearing these things about his parents.

"He lived in one of the greatest kingdoms ever built in Middle Earth: Erebor." Rafiki answered the eager prince, "It was literally a city carved inside of a mountain. It was so large, it could easily fit nearly a quarter of the entire Pride Lands inside of it."

"What?!"

"No way…"

"That's so cool!"

"Yes, indeed." Rafiki chuckled at the young cubs' response as he continued the story. "During my travels I actually got to set foot inside of Erebor and see for myself de many wonders it held. Precious gems glistening on the ceiling, shining like stars in the night, an entire room filled with hundreds of fountains made entirely of silver, filling the room with the tranquil sound of a thousand small streams, and let's not forget that Erebor was home to some of the finest smiths in all of Middle Earth. After all, these stones are exact replicas of your father's companions of whom he traveled with. They were given to him as a gift so dat he could never forget their faces."

Kopa was having the time of his life right now. He was expecting to find proof behind the many claims of his father's stories, but not only did he find what he was looking for, but now Rafiki was actually telling them about what truly happened. It excited the young prince greatly, but still there was one thing that was nagging at his mind. A question left unanswered.

"So…" the young cub began, "We all know how Scar drove Dad away from home when he was our age, but how did Thorin lose his home?"

"Well, Kopa…" Rafiki's smile faded, knowing where he had to begin the story, "That is where I must start this tale in order for you all to understand. It began with a great tragedy, it was so great that the dwarves turned the event into a song so dat they would never forget… nor ever forgive de one who wronged them. The issue has much to do with de ways of de world beyond de Pride Lands, and you all may not be able to quiet understand all that transpired, so I'll just give you a simpler version. Long ago, Thorin and his people lived in peace in their home at Erebor. During de reign of his grandfather, King Thror, the kingdom was attacked by a terrifying dragon."

"A dragon?!" all three cubs exclaimed all at once.

"Yes… but not just any dragon!" Rafiki said in a dramatic manor, "Dis dragon was one of the last fire breathers in all of Middle Earth: Smaug de Terrible. He stormed into de mountain and laid siege to its vast halls and leaving a path of fire and death in his wake. De dwarves fought back but to no avail, the kingdom was lost. Thorin helped his people and family escape the wrath of the fire breather, but now they were a people without a home."

"That's so sad..." Kiara said, her lip quivering at the thought. She couldn't imagine if her family and entire pride were driven from the Pride Lands. That would be simply awful.

"It is sad, princess." Rafiki said, nodding his head, "but this story will have a happy ending, you will see. After de sacking of Erebor, Thorin and his people moved around from place to place. Like a rogue lion in the desert, they traveled until they could find a new place to call home. Eventually, Thorin started a colony in a land called the Blue Mountains also known as Ered Luin."

"Were the mountains really blue?" Kopa asked, earning a mocking snicker from his siblings. "What?"

"It was here that our story begins." Rafiki continued, "For it was during this time, Thorin was living with his sister, Princess Dis, helping her with her two sons after the recent loss of her husband. During dis time, your father and his companions Timon and Pumbaa, decided to leave their comfortable oasis in order to venture out and see what else the world had in store for them. Traveling west, they eventually stumbled into Ered Luin, and unknowably, into their new family."

_"Thrown into a sea of beasts, a child flees from death's black sheet._

_The pride is gone, a lineage lost; though from the stars, the Great Kings watch._

_Through sand and woods, the young prince ran; until he came, to Durin's Land."_

**End of Prologue**

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**What a start! Am I right?**

**So as you can see a few changes have been made. Instead of Bilbo narrating from the future it's Rafiki to Simba's kids. And instead of Kiara being second oldest she's the youngest. Minor details like that. But this is an Alternate Universe so expect some cannon things... and expect some little twists and turns. I wonder what other changes will be made?**

**If you enjoyed and want this story to continue then please review and let me know what you think. If you want to help with the story then please pm me so we can chat and work out a plan. Because honestly... this is another big one that I really want to do along with the other 2 big stories I'm currently trying to finish.**

**In any case, This has been Rogue Lion. Signing off.**

**(Salutes Audience)**


	2. Through Ice and Water

**Alright guys. Here is chapter 1!**

**Now, if you all remember, in the prologue I established a few changes to the characters from the Lion King. One of those changes being the Animals of the Pride Lands are special and can live for a couple hundred years like dwarves can. This is important because according to lore, Fili and Kili were apparently 82 and 77 during the quest, and this is starting off when they were 12 and 7 years old.**

**See the hurdles I have to jump for continuity? I can do homework to and take lore into account. Lol.**

**More information will be shared about the Pride Lands and how it ages under Scar in later chapters of course! But for now… let's just get this story underway and see what's in store for our first chapter!  
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**Chapter 1: Through Ice and Water.**

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_(70 Years ago.)_

"Yahoo! Come on guys, this way!" the golden cub exclaimed as he bounded through the forest and slid down a small hill.

"Slow down, Simba!" the meerkat known as Timon exclaimed as he and his warthog companion, Pumbaa, raced after him, "You don't know what's out here!"

"I know, isn't it great?" Simba replied as he continued running through the woods.

It had been a few short months since Timon and Pumbaa took young Simba in. Since they found him half-starved on the edge of the Great Desert, the duo decided to remain in the oasis for a little while until Simba had regain his full strength. It was a pleasant place to live, filled with waterfalls, jungles, and a wide variety of insects, but after staying for a while, the group decided to press on. After all, Timon and Pumbaa were travelers, vagabonds, never remaining in one place for too long. Though they lived by their matto: Hakuna Matata, which meant 'no worries', they also went by another saying: 'home is where your rump rests'. So they went off into the unknown, going through mountains, valleys, and nearly every type of wilderness imaginable until they stumbled upon a land filled with large rolling hills, large pinewood forests, and rapid flowing streams littered with ice and snow.

Simba was naturally curious to know what adventures and mysteries laid in these lands, much to Timon and Pumbaa's dismay. Though Simba kept most of the more dangerous predators away, even though he was still a lion cub, it was they who would usually bail him out of trouble. The duo had saved him from falling off of waterfalls, from stealing prey from other predators, and even the time during their travels through the Great Desert where Simba sought out a wereworm to see if they truly existed. Needless to say… they concluded that wereworms were real and should not be eaten. Now, being in a strange new land, Timon and Pumbaa were once again trying their best to keep little Simba out of trouble.

"Simba!" Pumbaa called out, "Wait for us!" Suddenly, Simba stopped by a nearby river which was flowing rapidly, walked up to a nearby pine tree and began to climb it, which caused both Timon and Pumbaa to freak out.

"No, no, no!" Timon exclaimed as he and Pumbaa looked up near the base of the tree and watched as the cub continued to climb, "Simba! Come down this instant! You know the rules! No climbing a tree that's over a bazillion feet high!"

"Since when?" Simba asked as he peered his head out from one of the branches.

"Since now!" the meerkat exclaimed, "Now get down here!" His demand was met with a wet raspberry from the young lion cub as he continued to climb the tree. "Oy… kids these days."

"No respect." Pumbaa added on.

Meanwhile, Simba continued to climb until he got to the very top of the pine tree. That's when he looked out and saw the land before him. It was vast, with tall white mountains that were covered in what looked like a blanket of green pine tree heads. It was truly a sight to behold. It looked as though it went on for miles and miles. That was when the cub felt something cold and damp touch his nose, causing his ears to perk up as he tried to look to see what was at the end of his muzzle. It look like a little white flake of some kind which disappeared almost immediately. Suddenly, more of them began to gently float down from the sky, causing Simba to look up and smile with delight. He didn't know what they were but it was… magical. He swatted at a few and giggled as they swirled around in the wind. This was such fun! Nala would have lo-

Simba's eyes widened a little and his expression slowly turned from gleeful to depressed, as he thought just for a moment about his old life… and why he was out here in the first place. He sat down and laid back his ears as bits and pieces of his past came floating to the surface of his thoughts. This land was truly incredible and he did want to see it all… but… it still wasn't home. Ever since he left he had felt empty… guilty… alone… and just downright terrible. Deep down, Simba wished with all of his heart that he could go back home and see his family, but he knew he could never go back. Still, that didn't stop him from missing the Pride Lands, from missing his mother, from missing Nala… from missing his fath-

**CRACK!**

Simba suddenly felt the entire branch give way from underneath him and he stumbled. He would have fell, but he was able to latch onto the breaking branch with his front claws and hold on for dear life.

"Simba!" Timon and Pumbaa exclaimed at the same time. "Hold on!"

"I'm trying!" Simba called back, fear and panic now in his voice as he looked at the rushing rapids just below him, "Guys help! I'm slipping!"

"Hold on kid! Uncle Timon is on his way!" Wasting no time, Timon instantly scurried up the tree, leaving Pumbaa down below, chewing on his hooves in fear of what would happen. Once Timon reached the top, he got to the point to where the branch was breaking off from the tree and held out his hand and called out: "Grab on kid!" Simba reached with one paw, in an attempt to grab a hold of Timon's hand. He was so close. Just a little bit farther…

**SNAP!**

"NO!" Timon reached out to grab the cub's paw, but it was just barely out of reach. Timon watched in horror as Simba plummeted straight down into the rushing rapids below, and disappearing beneath the white caps. As he quickly made his way back down the tree, Pumbaa was frantically following the current, calling out Simba's name, but there was no response nor was there a sign of the young cub surfacing.

Timon couldn't believe it as he ran down the tree and joined Pumbaa near the river, looking for the little lion cub. This had to be some bad dream, some nightmare. Simba couldn't be gone, he just couldn't!

"Simbaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

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_(In a cabin nearby...)_

"Ha! missed again!" the blond dwarfling chided as he sidestepped out of the way of his younger brother who charged at him with a wooden sword.

"Hold still!" the dark haired dwarfling groaned as he went for another pass at his older brother, but the blond only parried his attack with ease with his own weapon.

"Come on, Kili." The blond dwarfling said, "You've got to do better than that if you want to beat me."

"Trust me, Fili." The younger one replied as he regained his footing, "I've haven't even begun to fight yet." He then rushed in with another attack, but Fili took this opportunity and swept Kili's legs out from under him. As Kili laid on his back, surprised and winded by the fall, Fili pointed the tip of his wooden sword to his brother's throat.

"Looks like I won this one, little brother." Fili said with a sly smile on his face. He would have gloated more, but the sound of a certain dwarodam's voice caught his attention.

"Fili!" Fili looked up to see none other than his mother, Lady Dis, standing right outside the front porch of their home, looking at him with a stern glare. "What have I told you about roughhousing with your younger brother?"

"Oh Mama." Fili groaned as he was once again being scolded by his mother, "Kili is alright. Honest. I was just showing him what Uncle- hey?!" without warning, Fili felt his own legs being kicked out from underneath him. As he looked up, he saw that his brother was now the one standing up with his sword pointed at his throat.

"Looks like it is I who has won this one, brother." Kili said triumphantly.

"Hey! No fair!" Fili groaned, but he couldn't suppress the chuckle he was trying to hold in, "I was distracted."

"Uncle Thorin always said don't stop fighting until your enemy is defeated." Kili explained, trying to imitate Thorin's tone of voice, which made him sound silly rather than serious.

"Well… you got me there." Fili all but chuckled as he held out his hand and was hoisted up by his brother. It warmed Dis' heart to see the comradery her two son's shared. Life had been difficult for her and her family. First with the Sacking of Erabor, the loss of her grandfather, father, and brother during the war, and then not long after that she lost her husband. Now all she had left was her brother, Thorin Oakenshild and her two precious son's Fili and Kili. Some days… it felt like they were the only things keeping her going. Thinking about it brought a few tears to the dam's eyes.

"Mama." Fili's voice snapped Dis out of her thoughts as she quickly wiped her eyes, "Can Kili and I go play down by the forest for a bit. There's something I want to show him."

"It's almost time for dinner." Dis responded, "and I don't think-"

"Please!" both Kili and Fili begged at the same time. Though they were both still children, Fili was around the age to where he could be trusted to wonder out a bit farther from the house, and where they had in mind wasn't too far out from Erid Luin. Giving into her children's pleas, Dis said, "Oh fine…"

"Yay!" both children exclaimed in delight.

"But you both better be back before nightfall, and don't even think about going down to the river!" It was nearing the time of winter and the last thing Dis needed was one of her children falling in and ending up with frostbite.

"Don't worry, Mama." Fili stated, "I'll take good care of Kili. I promise." Satisfied with her eldest' answer, Dis waved her hands and watched as her two young princes' run down the hill and out into the forest. She knew she had nothing to worry about. Fili was very protective of his younger brother and she knew he wouldn't let anything bad happen to him. Still, her motherly instincts couldn't help but fear for their safety.

"So where are we going?" Kili asked as he scurried behind his brother with his wooden sword in hand, ready for anything that came at them.

"There is this spot Uncle plans on taking us fishing in a few days. I want to show you."

"B-But Mama said she didn't want us by the river." Kili responded, surprised by his brother answer.

"And we're not going by the river." Fili said calmly as they walked, "We'll just be seeing it from a distance. We're not going anywhere near the river. So… I'm technically keeping my word to Mama."

"Ohhhh…" Kili nodded, understanding exactly what Fili meant as he winked at him, "Gotcha."

Both boys giddily giggled as they ran through the snow towards the direction of the river. As they followed the road through the snow they saw it was starting to lightly snow.

"Looks like we're in for a snowfall tonight." Fili commented, trying to sound all grown up.

"Oh! Oh!" Kili said in excitement, "Maybe Mama will make us some hot coco and we can have some story time by the fire!"

"Oh yeah," Fili remembered, "That would be fun. But anyway, here we are!"

Looking down from a small hill, they saw an opening where a rather wide river poured into a little pond where all the fish would gather before heading back into a current that would take them farther down the mountain. Just looking from their high point, they could see bright colored trout trying to jump up the rapids to try and travel upstream against the current that was pushing more and more fish in.

"Oh wow!" Kili said as he took a step forward towards the bank, "Look at all the fishys!"

"Careful," Fili grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back, "Remember, we're not supposed to go down to the river. I just wanted to show-"

"Brother! Brother! What's that?" Kili suddenly jumped up and down and pointed. The older brother looked to where the little dwarf was pointing. He squinted his eyes, trying to see what Kili was looking at, but all he saw was the white caps of the rushing river pouring water into the slew. Suddenly, a flash of gold appeared out of the caps before going back in. His eyes widened, surprised by his younger sibling's keen sight as well as what he saw.

"Wha is it?" Kili asked as he held onto Fili's tunic.

"I don't know…" Fili said as he squinted his eyes.

Suddenly the figure was thrown into calm pond, where it floated. It appeared to be a feline creature of some sort, who was the size of a hound, holding onto a branch for dear life with its eyes shut. Fili tried to make out what it was when suddenly…

"Kitty!" Kili suddenly bolted forward and slid down the hill towards the bank with a determined look on his face.

"Kili!" Fili exclaimed in terror as he clutched his head, "What are you doing?!"

"Kitties can't swim!" Kili exclaimed as his stubby legs moved as fast as they could, "He needs help!"

"You can't swim either!" Fili called out as he ran after his brother. He was terrified now. Mother told them not to go to the bank of the river and yet that was exactly what they were doing! He had to stop Kili from trying to jump in after that golden cat before it was too late! Luckily, the creature drifted near shore but if something wasn't done then it would be caught in another current and sent downstream further and out of site.

In an act of desperation, Kili dived forward and slid to the shore line right as the creature's tail floated by. Reaching down into the icy cold water he grabbed a handful of fur on the tuff of the feline's tail and pulled it out of the water. Beings young, he wasn't used to the freezing temperature and his tiny body shivered.

"D-Don't worry kitty!" Kili exclaimed though he shivered from the numbing cold, "I g-got you! W-Whoa!" suddenly the young dwarf felt himself being pulled. Though he held on, he was still tiny and the cat was much bigger than he was, "K-Kitty! Stop!" he dug his tiny shoes into the snow but it did little to stop the branch from drifting off with the big cat and him. He stumbled and lost his footing and realized he was about to plunge into the icy water.

"Kili hang on!" Fili exclaimed as he was able to catch up with his younger sibling. The 12-year-old dwarf stumbled through his coat pocket and pulled out a small kitchen knife. Dis had caught him playing with the utensils several times and had warned him about taking sharp objects without supervision, but the young dwarfling couldn't help himself. Thinking quickly, he was able to stick it into a nearby tree with one hand before grabbing his brother by his boot with the other.

"Gotcha!" He exclaimed as the brothers found themselves in a rather peculiar and dangerous situation. Kili had one foot on the edge of the water with the other in the air and held by his other brother, all the while his arms were outstretched and holding onto the golden cat's tail with all his might. Fili meanwhile was having one had on his knife that was imbedded in the tree while his other hand was keeping Kili and the cat from drifting off down the rapids.

"Hold… on… Kili!" Fili groaned as he tried to pull the young dwarfling back onto solid ground.

"Trying!" Kili cried out, whimpering in his uncomfortable position. He tried to pull the big kitty in but it was no use. He wasn't strong enough and his grip was slipping. To make matters worse, he was chilled to the bone, hungry, and becoming extremely tired. Plus, he didn't want to fall into the water. He could let go… but he didn't want to let the kitty go. In desperation he and Fili began to cry for help, hoping that someone back at the roadside would hear them.

"Help! Help us!" Fili called out desperately.

"Mama! Uncle Thorin!" Kili cried out with tears streaming down his rosy cheeks.

They continued like this for several minuets, until suddenly they heard the faint sound of twigs breaking in the distance, and boots tromping down the snowy path.

"Boys!" a deep voice called out with worry and concerned laced in it. The brothers looked back with relief as a dwarf with long black locks and a short beard came tromping through the snow in his bulky fur coat. There was a look of fear and anger in his expression but they did not care. They were just so relieved to see family again. It was their Uncle, Thorin Oakenshield.

"Uncle Thorin!" They both called out in unison, "Help!"

"Kili!" Thorin called out as he was running with great haste to get to his boys in time, "Let go of that thing!"

"No!" Kili exclaimed defiantly, much to Thorin's surprise and distress, "Kitty hurt!" Thorin huffed at this statement. Sometimes his nephew's stubbornness could be a blessing and a curse. In this case, it was a curse. It was bad enough they were so close to falling in, but why in Durin's name were they trying to rescue a lion?!

"You both have a lot of explaining to do…" he said under his breath. Quickly, he grabbed both Kili and the lion cub and pulled them both on shore, causing Fili to stumble backwards onto the snow. Kili immediately hugged Thorin's leg and began to cry, feeling scared from almost plunging into an icy death. Fili meanwhile just looked up at Thorin with a nervous grin and scratched the back of his head. He knew they were in trouble.

"Um… well uh…" he stammered, "You see…"

"Fili," Thorin addressed the oldest sternly before taking the knife out of the tree and showing it to him with a look of displeasure, "It's one thing to take knives from the pantry and go by a river without supervision, but what possessed you both to risk your lives to pull a lion out of the rapids?" He gestured to the golden lion cub who was clearly unconscious and soaking wet from the icy river.

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_(Later that day…)_

"There…" Dis said as she wrapped the golden cub in a blanket and set him by the fireplace, "That should warm him up. Poor little chap…"

Not long after she went into the house, Dis was greeted by a strange sight. Thorin was at the door with a big lion cub in his arms while Fili was shifting nervously beside him and Kili was shivering and hugging himself for warmth. It didn't take long for the dwarodam to tend to everyone, giving her boys blankets and tending to the cub. As she did, the brothers watched her from the living room couch while Thorin observed from the doorway leading into his nephew's rooms.

"Is… is kitty going to be alright mommy?" Kili asked as he shifted in his blankets.

"Kili it's not a kitty. It's a lion cub!" Fili pointed out gruffly, a bit aggravated due to the fact that they were both in trouble now.

"He should be fine, boys." She sighed as she stood up, "Nothing a little warmth, water, and food can't fix." As she looked back at them, however, her expression grew stern, "But right now there's the matter of you both going to the river… and having one of my kitchen knives." Both children winced at the sound of their mother's scolding voice. They hated it when they got in trouble… and when she talked to them like that.

"We…" Fili rubbed his arm while refusing to make eye contact with his mother, "We were just out exploring, Mama. We didn't mean no harm. Honest."

"And Ki-… the lion was in trouble!" Kili tried to plead his case like only a toddler would. There was no response from Dis, but Thorin however took a few steps forward in front of the young lads with his arms crossed and his stoic expression never leaving his face.

"Quarters. Now." He ordered in a deep, authoritative tone of voice. He had no time to deal with punishments at the moment. He had a lot on his mind… and a new problem to fix.

"Bu- but Uncle Thorin…" Kili stammered.

"Now!" Thorin bellowed, now much louder, causing both children to jolt before quickly running upstairs to their room and closing the door behind them. All grew silent in the room, save for the crackling of burning firewood. Oakenshield glanced at cub as he slept soundly in the blankets. It was so young, despite it being the size of one of the local hound. Still, it was too young to be out alone, which made his thoughts all the more worried.

"Durin's beard…" Dis sighed as she fixed her dress before she went to the kitchen to start cleaning the workspace up, "One minuet they are playing in the ram's stalls and the next they're bringing home golden lions. What's next? An elf?" she laughed at the last part but her brother didn't answer. Suddenly he walked past her to where he had an axe resting on one of the side walls and took it in hand.

"Thorin?" Dis noticed this and saw his gaze was fixed on the cub, "Thorin what are you doing?"

"We got to get rid of it, Dis." He stated simply before walking towards the cub. Her eyes widened before rushing in front of her brother.

"Now see here, brother!" she stood between him and the cub, realizing he had the intent of taking the young one's life, "What has gotten into you? You help my boys pull it out of the river, now you want to go out and dispose of it like some rat? I did not just spend 30 minuets of placing my finer blankets on the beast just so you could kill it."

"I would dare not do it in front of them, sister." He said sternly with a hushed whispered, trying to keep the conversation quiet so not to alert his nephews, "I'm saving them the sight of it. We'll say we let it go once it healed up. I'll get rid of the body after-"

"You will do no such thing!" She replied sternly but quietly, "This is foolishness, Thorin. It's not even full grown and yet you're treating it like we just brought in an adult warg."

"It might as well be," He replied in a tone that was equally as stern as the dam's, "The beast is too young to be out here in the wilds on its own. It must have a mother, or worse a pride in the territory. Our people have enough problems as it is, keeping wolves and wargs from taking our ponies and flocks at night. The last thing we need are more predators traveling through the mountains and making things dangerous for you, Fili and Kili."

"You act as though I can't take care of myself," Dis retorted as she pointed a finger up at him, "I understand your reasoning, brother, but you forget that you-"

"D… Dad…"

Both dwarves suddenly grew quiet as they heard a soft voice in the room. At first, they thought one of the boys had left their room upstairs and came down, but then they realized it had come from the cub by the fireplace. They looked at it, eyes wide with shock and wonder.

"Accident… Didn't… mean to…"

"I… I must be having illusions in my time cooped up in this house," Dis said in disbelief as her eyes remained fixed on the beast, "I could have sworn I heard the cub speak!"

"If so, then I share your illusion Dis." Thorin said quietly as he set the axe down before approaching the cub and kneeling by it. Looking at the lion with golden fur and tan muzzle, he ran a hand through the long fur that was sprouting on top the young one's head that would one day be his mane. The fur was dry and soft to the touch, and the cub flinched in response but would not wake up. Thorin however just looked down at it in both amazement and curiosity. He had heard stories in his travels but… how?

"How does a cub know the tongue of man?"

**End of Chapter 1**

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**Phew... Finally got it done.**

**Got to admit, I'm so excited by the support I'm getting for this story so far. Special thanks to Liam Holman, Stegosaurus, LouisianaFan, Ani-maniac, and Warstang! You're supporting words really got me in the mood to crank out this chapter and get this story under way!**

**Also, for anyone wondering about Timon and Pumbaa don't worry. We'll be seeing more of them soon enough. They'll be playing big roles in this story to.**

**(Yes. They live a long time to. I said Pride Lands animals. They were in the region, speak the tongue of man, so they count. Stupid continuity... lol)**

**Anyway guys, I hope you all enjoyed. Until next time, this has been Rogue Lion, signing off.**

**(Salute's Audience)**


	3. Chapter 2: Meeting the Company

**Hello everybody!**

**So a bit of an update as to what is going on in the background, chapters for 'In a Perfect World' and 'Rythms of the Pride Lands' are in the work. As well as upcoming chapters for my old content of Rise of Simba. **

**That being said, I'm also very busy with getting ready to go back to college. This includes planning, getting summer courses done, and making the most of my time with my family. So I'm sorry if some content comes out a bit slow. **

**Alrighty now. On with the next chapter! Time for our characters to finally interact!**

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**Chapter 2: Meeting the Company**

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All through the night, Simba tossed and turned in his blankets. His closed eyes constantly wincing and soft whimpers escaping him. His dreams were filled with memories of the past, both the good times and the bad. Yet to him, they all hurt to watch. For they were all of his family and friends, people he loved and cared about yet knew he would never see again.

Eventually, his thoughts and emotions began to pull the young cub out of the realm of dreams and back into reality. Though his eyes were still shut, he could hear voices… several of them. Though they were faint, they were there.

"The ladie should be waking up soon," one old voice stated.

"Good." Another, more gruff sounding voice stated, "Maybe now we can get some answers from the little blighter."

"Come, come, brother," a gentler voice said, "Tis but a child, a cub. Not some prisoner of war."

"But a lion none the less," the gruff voice responded, "And for a cub, he's rather large. Ain't a mountain cat alive who gives birth to a male this size."

"Quiet. All of you." A deep voice sounded which brought the banter to a quick silence, "You heard Oin. It should be waking up. Remember… no sudden movements."

His curiosity getting the better of him, Simba began to slowly open his eyes. He was met by a bright light, causing him to shut his eyes and groan in response. Blinking again, the world around him came into focus and before him was a fireplace and a bowl of water. Though he looked at the odd items, he felt as though he was not alone.

"T-Timon? Pumbaa?" he asked in a quiet voice as he looked around for his friends. What he was met with however was not a meerkat and a warthog, but 4 dwarfs who were looking down at him. Simba gasped and he laid his ears back and shivered in response. None of them moved towards him, but that did not stop them from looking at Simba with awe and surprise

"Well bless my beard…" the dwarf with the gentle voice spoke up as he stroked his white beard, "It really does speak."

"Aye," another dwarf with a grey scraggily beard said as he held a hearing horn in his ear, "And the golden coat only confirms it."

"Just because it's from some Numinorian folklore doesn't mean it's friendly," a bald-headed dwarf told his kin gruffly as he leaned on his battle axe.

"Which is precisely why I have called you all hear."

Simba suddenly flicked his ears again at the sound of the deep voice. Behind the dwarves sat another in a long chair. Though his beard was not as long as the others, he held a rather regal look about his face. The others responded instantly to his command, not moving and allowing him to speak. Simba meanwhile just looked at them all in wonder and a slight bit of fear. He had never seen animals like these before, and the one with the short beard… his voice… it reminded him of-

"So…" Simba blinked as he realized the dwarf in question was now looking directly at him with his hands together as he leaned forward, "What exactly are you?"

"U-Uh… um…" Simba felt his words caught in his throat as his body shook. Despite being warmed by the blankets he shivered and felt a chill run down his spine. Looking up at all of them his face shown clear distress. The head dwarf saw this and looked at his companions.

"Everyone move back." The dwarf ordered but with a calm and quiet voice, "Slowly…". The others in the company listened and walked backwards until they were near the wall. Now there was only one dwarf who was closest to Simba, which caused the young prince some measure of relief. Still, he was very afraid of the predicament he was in.

"P-Please…" the cub whimpered, "Don't hurt me. I… I don't know how I got here."

"Poor fella." The white bearded dwarf said out of pity, "Seems more of a house cat than a lion." By now it was very clear to everyone in the room that this cub was not like the other wild animals that made their homes on the mountain side. No attempt to run or fight but rather speak? Such a thing was unheard of unless coming from a fairytale.

"I assure you," the head dwarf spoke up yet again, both calmly and kindly to Simba, "We mean you no harm. We are just trying to understand what you are, exactly."

"Well, I'm a lion." Simba replied, a bit more confidence in his voice but still being cautious of the group, "But… what are you? Some type of mountain gorillas with strange fur?"

"Most certainly not!" the dwarf laughed in response to Simba's question. It felt like he was conversing with a dwarfling than an animal by this point, "I am Thorin, son of Thrain."

"Oh…" the cub blinked as he looked up at him, "Never heard of a Thorin before. Actually, what is a Thorin?" Upon this, the room filled with laughter while the head dwarf just kept a look of displeasure on his face. This was like talking to his youngest nephew. Simba however didn't realize what was going on and just pulled back into the blankets, wondering if he had done something wrong.

"No, no my lad," the dwarf with the white beard spoke up, "Thorin is his name. What we are, are dwarves."

"Dwarves?" Simba repeated the word, feeling a bit better as he saw the bright cheery smile on the one who had spoken up.

"Aye." The white bearded one responded before giving a curt bow, "I am Balin. At your service." Suddenly the one with grey scruffy beard came up and bowed as well.

"Oin. At your service." He said as he still had the horn up to his ear.

"Dwalin…" the final dwarf followed the other's example as he put his axe away, "At your service."

"Oh… um…" Simba looked around at the four bowing dwarfs that had seemingly formed around him, "Hi, everyone. I'm Simba."

"Simba?" Thorin repeated as he contemplated the name in his head. Certainly, wasn't of dwarvish tongue… and it didn't sound of Elvish origin… could be Dunidain or Numinorian, but the dwarf still wasn't sure. None the less, there was more to worry about than names.

"Tell me… Simba," Thorin began as he cleared his throat, "Are there more like you nearby?"

"Yes… I mean no!" the cub blurted out. Simba didn't quite think about the question until after he answered. Yes, he had friends and yes, he had family but he didn't want to tell them for certain personal reasons.

"Well? Which one is it?" Dwalin asked gruffly.

"Well, I…. um… I just…" Simba stammered, scared out of his wits by Dwalin. For a short guy he was rather imposing. Before Simba could answer however, a new voice suddenly sounded. And unlike these dwarves, it was loud.

"Kitty is up!"

Simba looked to see 2 small dwarflings come running down the stairs speedily and heading straight towards him. This… didn't calm the young cub's nerves at all.

"YIPE!" seeing that neither one stopped as they ran past the adults, Simba jumped to his feet and bolted out of the blankets right as the black haired dwarfling was about to hug him. Thorin and his friends instantly were in a panic and sprang into action, trying to calm Simba down while running after the dwarflings.

"Lads! Wait!"

The youngsters chased Simba into the kitchen where he jumped up on the cabinets to get away from the rascal brothers. Plates and silverware fell and clanked and clattered all around the cabin floor as the lion cub scrambled across the kitchen counter. Balin and Oin followed them into the kitchen but the moment things began to break they panicked and began to catch and save all the family's china. Catching the cub was one thing, but they really didn't want to explain to Lady Dis why all her recently cleaned dishes were now broken.

Caught with their hands full of fragile items, they couldn't chase after the young ones as they made their way out of the kitchen and into the living room, though Dwalin and Thorin were right on their heels.

"Fili! Kili! Stop!" Thorin called out but his voice was drowned out by combined sounds of the clattering of plates, children running, and Simba letting out terrified mews as he ran away from the kids.

"I'll shove your rears in a cellar and throw away the key, you little buggers!" Dwalin exclaimed in frustration as he followed behind Thorin. The two paused but not before they had chased poor Simba up the window curtain and torn the fabric with his claws. This action caused Thorin to grab his head in worry. Dis had left to gather more supplies for everyone. She would not be happy with what she would find upon her return. Thankfully, Dwalain came and picked them both up by the back of their shirts before they could resume their chase.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed, giving the brothers a stern glare before scolding them in Kazadule tongue, which was the language of the dwarves. Simba meanwhile shivered and shook as he held onto the torn curtains and looked down at the family of dwarves and the now wrecked house. Thorin looked up at the terrified cub and sighed, realizing that they were all off to a very bad start. Despite the bad luck, it wasn't done yet.

"Simba…" Thorin sighed, "I'm terribly sorry. These are my nephews, Fili and Kili. You have nothing to fear from them. They are as harmless as a couple of field mice."

"Hey!" both brothers exclaimed in offense, only to be shook by Dwalin.

"Shut it!" the large dwarf told them, "You both be glad you're not mine, or you'd be over my knee right here right now!"

This caused Simba to crack a small nervous smile on his muzzle as he watched the two pout. Though they did catch him off guard and scare the living daylights out of the young lion, they did seem rather small. Slowly the lion made his way down the torn-up curtains, much to the relief of everyone in the room.

"Boys." Thorin turned to his nephews as Dwalin set them down, "This is Simba. Apologize to him." Sheepishly, both dwarflings came up to the lion and bowed to him like they saw the adults do several times.

"Sorry…" Fili sighed.

"Yeah. We sowwy." Kili added, following his elder brother's example.

"That's ok. Just startled me was all."

"Whoa!" both kids jumped back in shock and amazement, especially Kili.

"Kitty talks!" he said in wonder.

"Um," Simba replied, a bit annoyed by what Kili called him, "My name is Sim- hey!" Fili and Kili instantly were on him, Kili pulling on his Simba's ear while Fili went and began stretching Simba's tail. Simba gritted his teeth as he felt the young dwarves pull on him, all the while his ears were being filled with the many loud questions the brothers were asking.

"Kitty feel fluffy!"

"How do you talk?!"

"Can you be my pillow?"

"Are you cursed?"

"Can you sleep in my bed?"

Eventually Thorin cuffed both his nephews with his hands, causing them to stop their bantering and clutch the top of heads in pain. He wasn't worried about Simba being a threat now, however, that was no excuse for them to manhandle him like that.

"Enough. Both of you." He said to them, getting their full attention, "You're both in enough trouble as it is. When your mother gets back both of you are going to-"

"I'm back! You'll never guess what-"

Suddenly everyone froze as they looked back at the entrance to see none other than lady Dis walk in through the door with a smile on her face. Yet the moment the wrecked kitchen and trashed living room caught her eye, the dwarowdam froze in shock and her smile contorted into a slacked jaw.

"My lady!" Balin exclaimed in a cheery tone as he and Oin were trying to put away all of the plates and quickly clean up the shattered glass in the kitchen, "Back so soon? How was the market?" yet this did little but stir the dam's ire.

"What… in the name of Durin… happened… TO… MY HOUSE?!" the dam exclaimed in disbelief.

Simba gritted his teeth before backing up slowly. Kili and Fili tried to follow the cub's lead but Thorin grabbed them both and stepped on Simba's tail to keep him from running off again. No words were said but the sight of her sons told the lady enough.

"I should have known…" she sighed in aggravation, "Very well… best start at the beginning I suppose."

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Later, Dwalin, Baliln, and Oin were helping out with straightening up what Simba and the boys tore down. Both kids would be punished later, but for now they just stayed by their mother since it wasn't every day one met a talking animal. As they conversed near a now dying fire, Thorin explained everything to his sister before introducing her to the golden lion cub.

Simba all the while began to learn a thing or two about these creatures as well. They all seemed to share a similar height and they all had hair on their chin, even Dis had a beard of her own. They seemed friendly enough. After all, none of them have tried to eat him yet.

"So… Simba is it?" Dis eyed the cub as she sat in her chair with her arms crossed. She was much calmer now, but she still was not pleased by what she found in her house.

"Y-Yes Ma'am." The cub stuttered out as he looked up at her. Seeing just how angry she could get made Simba think long and hard about the words he used. As he scratched the back of his head with his paw, he told her with a nervous grin: "I'm sorry about… your den."

Dis didn't know whether it was the lion cub's timid sounding voice or sweet smile or the fact that he just called her cabin a den, but she found a smile forming over her face as she shook her head.

"Well," she sighed, "If I'm being honest, this isn't the first time I've returned to a mess. I really should expect it by now with these two."

"We're really sorry, Mama." Fili told her as he sat to her right.

"I bet you are." She eyed Fili, "You're certainly not giving our guest a good first impression."

"We didn't mean to scare Simba." Kili replied, feeling equally guilty.

"No, that's ok." Both brothers heard Simba speak up and looked back at the cub who was once again under blankets by the fire, "I just wasn't expecting it. You both sure are brave."

"Really?" Fili's face beamed, "You think we're brave?" Simba nodded in response, happy that he could bring a smile to the child's face.

"High praise coming from a king of beasts," Thorin mused lightheartedly before looking back at Simba with a serious expression, "Though Simba… I think it is best that we get back on track, starting with where your home might be?"

"H-Home?" the lion cub repeated as he looked up at Thorin and his family, but this time his smile was replaced with a rather depressed look, "I… don't have one."

"You don't?" Fili gasped as his eyes widened in shock. Though it sounded sad to the blond dwarf, Kili had a happy face.

"Can he live with us Mama?" he asked, "Please, please, pleaaaaaaase?" Dis was about to respond to her son's rather poor formed statement, but Simba stopped them.

"I'm sorry but, I really can't stay." Simba's answer made the youngster look at him with sadness.

"What?" Kili said in disappointment, "Why not?"

"I have friends that I really have to get back to." Simba answered as he stood up and shook the blankets off. While both brothers were disappointed by this statement, Thorin and Dis looked at each other with concern. Were there really more of these lions in their mountain?

"And who might these friends of yours be?" Thorin asked the cub. Simba looked up at the dwarf and found a strange comfort in his voice. It sounded so similar to… _him… _ yet different. The family seemed nice and all but he knew that he had to find his friends. They didn't really stay in one place for very long anyway. Simba was about to answer when suddenly there was a pounding on the door.

"Thorin? THOOOOORIIIIIIIIN!"

Thorin shot up from his seat at the sound of the desperate cry. Leaving Simba with Dis and the boys, he Dwalin and Balin answered the door. The one responsible for the pounding was a dwarf coal miner with a broad hat and short curly beard. It was a fellow dwarf of the Blue Mountains by the name of Bofur.

"Bofur, what on earth is the matter?" Thorin addressed the miner.

"Thorin!" Bofur exclaimed, his face mixed with fear and excitement, "you're never going to believe this! I was just minding my own business, returning home from a long day of work. I go into my pantry, right? And I find it's been raided!"

"Raided?" Thorin looked with concern.

"Aye," Bofur nodded, "But you won't believe what it was!"

As they talked, Simba crept up behind Thorin to listen to what the newcomer was saying. It sounded interesting enough, plus this one had a curly beard. It looked funny to him.

"Don't tell me it was Nori back at his old habbits again?" Thorin asked him with a sigh, knowing that dwarf was known for his thieving.

"Not Nori this time!" Bofur said before opening the door, "Well… see for yourself."

The miner directed Oakenshield outside where his brother Bifur was sitting on their pony cart and in the back seat held two odd looking creatures in a wooden cage. One looked like a boar but its skin was much redder and its tusks longer. The other looked like a tall looking rat creature but it was the size of one of the dwarflings. Thorin approached the animals with a confused look on his face.

"Word of warning," Bofur told Thorin, "Steer clear of the pig. It has a rather foul odor."

"Hey! Who're you calling a pig?!" the warthog snorted in anger, causing all of the dwarves to jump back in shock.

"Yeah!" the rat creature added, "Come on and let us out of here! We ain't got time for this! We're on a mission here!"

"Oh, did I mention they somehow can speak?" Bofur said nervously, which earned a rather annoyed look from Thorin.

"It would have been useful to have known that ahead of ti-"

"Timon! Pumbaa!" Simba exclaimed as he recognized the caged creatures. As he ran out the door and up to the cart, Bifur and Bofur both let out a cry of terror and jumped behind Thorin for fear of the lion, while Timon and Pumbaa got super excited.

"Simba! You're alive!" Timon exclaimed as they watched their little lion cub ran up to the pen.

"We were so worried!" Pumbaa cried tears of joy as he reached out through the holes in the cage and pulled Simba in for a hug, "That's the last time we're ever letting you climb something ever again!"

As the trio of animals talked amongst each other, Bifur and Bofur looked back and forth between Thorin and the creatures. They had seen some pretty quer things while wondering middle earth, but a talking rat, pig, and lion was something entirely new. Meanwhile the other dwarves from inside came out and watched as Simba talked to his companions who by now started complaining to be let out of their cage.

"By my beard..." Dwalin crosses his arms and looks at his brother Balin as he thought back to Simba's words from before, "It makes sense now. No, he had no other lions like him, but yes that he isn't the only talking creature in these woods."

"Aye," Balin nodded, "Whatever doubts I had before are gone now. The legends must be true." Though the company had a good idea of what was going on, Bifur and Bofur were still a bit confused as to what was going on.

"Er… Thorin?" Bofur looked at the head dwarf with disbelief, "Did I have a bit too much ale or is that a lion cub talking to a rat and a pi- swine?"

"It's a… long story." Thorin sighed, realizing he was going to have to explain everything… again.

**To Be Continued**

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**So here it is, chapter 2!**

**Honestly... I have mixed feelings about this chapter. Yes it was funny and great for nostalgia between characters, but I felt it... lacking for some reason. I don't know. It was a necessary chapter for the overall story, but I felt as though if I added more to it then it would be a stretch but too little then it wouldn't work. **

**Just... let me know what you think in the review section. Chapter 3 and 4 should be much much better than this one, I promise. **

**With that being said guys, this has been Rogue Lion signing off!**

**(Salutes the Audience) **


	4. Chapter 3: Endless Night

**Hello everyone. Finally had time to crank something out.**

**For those who are closely following my posts, thank you so much. I truly hope you are enjoying what I right and put out for you guys. **

**(I got 21 favs and 29 reviews in a span of 4 chapters so I don't know what everyone thinks. lol)**

**In any case, life has just been busy. I haven't been able to commit as much time and energy to everything due to work, school, and money issues. I want to write more for everyone but priorities are... well... priorities.**

**I did get the idea of maybe opening a for writing. It's crazy, but if I can find a way to make my fan writing produce something then it'll difinetly make me start pushing out content more. Let me know what you think of that.**

**Anyway, enough rambling. Let's get on with this epic Crossover!**

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**The Endless Night**

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"Ok… time out. Let me get this straight. You are called… dwarves?" Timon questioned as they were now sitting with Simba around a circle of dwarves after everyone explained everything, "You live in the mountains like a couple of unsocial pansies, those two fuzzy maracas found our Simba in the river after he fell in, you brought him back, scared him out of his mind, and then sent your goons to catch us and eat us?"

"Oi!" Bofur stood up and protested, "You were stealing our food!"

"Hey, it's not stealing. It's 'foraging'." Timon pointed out, "Not our fault you keep your dinner wide out in the open."

"The door was locked!"

"Not the clear door in the back."

"That was a window, you varmint!"

"What's a window?"

"Enough!" Thorin groaned. Bofur and Timon going back and forth gave the dwarf a headache. The two of them stopped and looked at the head dwarf in silence. Bofur knew better than to back talk to him. Timon meanwhile just stayed quiet since well… Thorin scared them.

"The point is," Thorin said in seriousness, "You both look after Simba, I presume?"

"Sure do!" Pumbaa said as he sat beside Dwalin and Balin, "Kid's been with us ever since we picked him up in the desert."

"Yep!" Timon nodded as he stood up and stretched, "So thank you, your Thorniness, but we should be heading out now. So goodbye, adieu, Al viteza, we'll keep in touch. Come on guys let's head out."

"Wait," Dis eyed the meerkat as he stood up and began to walk towards the door, "You're really leaving?"

"You bet your beard we are," Timon replied as he pointed a finger up at Dis as if he was telling her off, "We're getting off of this wacky white mountain as soon as possible. Right fellas?"

"Actually rat, these are the Blue Mountains. And you best be showing the dam some respect." Dwalin gave a low growl, not appreciating how the meerkat was addressing a daughter of Durin. The growl made Timon snap his mouth shut, however he did lean over to his companion Pumbaa and whisper in the warthog's ear: "It's worse than we thought buddy. They're not only short tempered but also color blind."

"Do you really have to go?" Fili asked them, earning the animals' attention, "We really want you to stay!" Timon raised a finger to object again, however Simba cut him off.

"Yeah Timon!" Simba said enthusiastically, "Can we stay here for a while? Please?"

"Please, please, pleeeeeeeeeeeease?" Kili said as he was on his hands and knees in front of Timon and giving him big puppy dog eyes.

"Oi…" Timon and Thorin suddenly said at the same time which caused them both to look at one another in shock.

"Uh… heheh…" Timon laughed nervously, "Can you excuse us for a moment? I think I need to have a little… 'chat'… with my companions." Having said that, the meerkat directed Simba and Pumbaa over to the other side of the house till they were out of the dwarf's hearing.

"Are you two nuts?" Timon whispered with aggravation in his tone of voice.

"What?" Simba asked, not understanding what Timon's problem was.

"We can't stay here with these big apes!" Timon said sternly, "They'll make mincemeat out of us if we stay here! Last I checked, big sharp objects don't usually mean peaceful people."

"Well…" Pumbaa heard his friend's statement and shrugged, "I guess…"

"What do you mean you guess?" Timon looked up at the warthog, "Sure, they're all nice and helpful now. But what happens when they start to get hungry? One look at you and you're a pig roast." This comment earned a disgruntle snort from Pumbaa, making Timon roll his eyes and correct himself: "Sorry… a Mr. Pig roast."

"Better." Pumbaa nodded in response.

"Guys come on," Simba pressed his frineds, "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. Not to mention… I kind of like their den. It's really warm in here compared to outside."

"He's got a point Timon," Pumbaa looked back at the meerkat, "besides, all this snow is really making my skin wrinkle."

Timon grumbled as he rubbed his temple with his fingers. He was a loner, a solo act. The thought of settling down with another group of… anyone really didn't sit well with the meerkat. He had left his colony to get away from the hustle and bustle and demands of life. Sure, traveling with his two best buddies was something he enjoyed, but to just sit in one place too long? He wasn't too thrilled with that prospect of living with a bunch of dwarves.

Meanwhile on the other side of the room, Thorin was having a similar discussion with his family and friends.

"If they wish to leave then I see no reason why we should hinder them in their travels." Thorin stated to the group. Biffur and Bofur nodded in agreement but Dis, Balin, Dwalin, and Oin disagreed.

"These creatures are of a special breed." Oin stated, "It may be best to keep them around."

"I agree." Balin added, "The cub is young and his companions are incompetent. If it wasn't for Fili and Kili then Simba would be a frozen body floating down the river by now."

"It's just not natural I tell ya," Bofur tried to argue for Thorin, "Couple of yapping creatures walking around the mountains with nothing better to do than talk our ears off? I say just let them be."

There was much debate that followed from there between the men. All the while Dis listened to both sides and heard what they had to say. Eventually she stood up and addressed them all.

"If I may," she spoke up, getting their attention, "I'd like to pose a question to you all. What would we do if one day we stumbled upon a young eagle who had fallen from its nest? Leave it out in the wild or take it in?"

The room fell quiet as they all thought on this statement. Thorin could see what Dis was going for in terms of an argument, but he allowed the dam to do this since he wished to see what the others would think and respond.

"Best to take it in, I say," Dwalin said to her, "Could be useful if raised right."

"If the hatchling had fallen from its nest then its mother would be right behind it," Balin pointed out, "Best to let the parents take care of their own."

"Both your statements have truth to them," Dis replied, "and I implore you to look at Simba and his companions in the same way." She pointed back at the cub as he talked with Timon and Pumbaa on the other side of the room, "A lion cub being raised by a rat and pig. Such a thing I have never heard of. How do you think he'll grow up?"

Biffur spoke up and answered Dis, yet he spoke in Khuzdul, which was the language of the dwarven race. His answer was along the lines of: "_He'd not know who he really would be_."

"Yes Biffur," Dis nodded, "He would be a lion who would think himself to be a bug eating pig or rat. If he has family then I say we hold him here and look around until we find them. If they cannot be found then taking him in would be the next best option."

"and how exactly do you suppose we take care of said lion?" Thorin asked her in all seriousness, "Don't tell me you plan on going out and finding a talking lioness in the mountains to look after him?"

"This is a special case brother," Dis replied coolly, "Unlike most unknown creatures, this one actually speaks. I would be no different then taking care of a child."

"A carnivorous child on four legs." Thorin remarked, "Though… we already have 2 of those already I suppose." His statement was met with a smack on the shoulder from his sister. This of course simply caused him to smirk at her. Dis knew he wasn't wrong, but he didn't have to say it that way. Before they could continue the conversation, they heard a sudden: "ahem" which brought their attention back towards Timon, who was standing before everyone with Simba and Pumbaa behind him.

"After a bit of… debate." Timon said slowly, clearly not all too thrilled with what he was going to say, "We decided to stick around for a bit."

"Yipee!" both Kili and Fili got up to try and hug the meerkat.

"Ah, ah, ah!" Timon put his hands up in their faces before they could hug him, "Only until the snow melts. After that, we're booking it off the mountain."

"awwww." The dwarflings pouted in response.

Thorin stroked his beard as he considered what the meerkat said. They were currently in the beginning of winter so the snow would last a good while. Perhaps during that time their little animal friends would come to enjoy their time amongst them. Even if they don't, it would give the dwarves plenty of time to observe and learn more about these creatures.

"Very well." Thorin answered him, "We'll do it your way. So long as you obey our rules your company may stay as long as you need."

"Rules? What rules?" Timon raised an eyebrow, "This won't involve a leash will it?"

While the adults talked, Simba sat on the sidelines with his ears perked up and a smile on his face. His curiosity had peeked since he met these dwarves. They were nice and welcoming and new to him. For some reason it made him feel warm… and it wasn't just from the fire.

"Isn't this great Simba?" Fili and Kili came up beside the cub and hugged him, "You get to stay with us now! You're like family!"

"Um… yeah. Heh…" Simba said, a bit uncomfortable by both the kids hugging him as well as the term they used, "Family…"

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That night was a peaceful one in Durin household. The fire had died out, Everyone had returned to their respectful homes, Thorin's family had gone to sleep, and all was peaceful. Despite this, the golden lion cub found himself unable to fall asleep. While his friends slept on the couch, snoring loudly, Simba laid next to them with his eyes drooped in depression and his ears laid back in sadness. The last time he fell asleep he dreamed about a moment from his past; a moment that still haunted him to this day.

Not knowing what else to do, he hopped down from the couch and headed to the front door. Nudging it open with a creaking noise, he made his way outside into the cold front porch and looked up at the starlit sky. Simba could barely feel the cold as his mind drifted off to a different time in his life. Despite being in this new land, the sky was still the same. _His _voice still echoed in his mind.

"_Look at the stars. The Great Kings of the Past look down on us from those stars. So whenever you feel alone, always remember, those kings will always be there to guide you… and so will I."_

"I'm sorry…" Simba said, his frustration and pain finally bubbling to the surface, "It's my fault… it's all my fault. You're gone because of me. I… I don't even know if you're there. Why would you watch over someone like me? Why…" by this point the young cub sat on the steps and began to quietly sob. No matter how hard he tried it felt like he could never escape his past, nor find any comfort.

After all, who could possibly love a murderer?

"Simba?"

Suddenly the door opened up and a light shown on Simba, making the cub gasp and look back in surprise to see Thorin stepping outside with his thick coat and a lantern in his hand. As a mist of hot air escaped his mouth as he breathed the crisp cold, the dwarf asked in his deep voice: "What do you think you are doing out here?"

"I-I…" Simba stuttered as he tried to quickly wipe the tears away from his eyes, "N-Nothing Mr. Thorin, sir. I… I just…" his small body shivered as he found the cold night air was starting to get to him. yet to his surprise, the dwarf came over and picked him up in his other strong arm. At first the cub was surprise but he found the warmth of Thorin's fur coat to be quite pleasant.

"Come. It's late." Thorin said as he brought Simba back inside and shut the door. Simba was expecting a scolding or a berating from the stern dwarf like he had witnessed with Fili and Kili. Instead, Thorin put him on a wooden chair nearby the fireplace before setting his lamp down and restarting the fire. Oakenshield then sat beside Simba on the chair and reclined back. Silence filled the room, save for the cracking fire that casted a shadow over the lion and dwarf's faces.

Simba was nervous, looking quietly back and forth between the fire and Thorin, not knowing what to do or say. Thorin for some reason gave him a feeling of security… and fear.

"Simba…"

"Hm?" Simba blinked before looking up at Thorin who was looking at the fire flicker.

"Why do you weep?"

"N-No reason." Simba quickly said, tuning away from Thorin, hoping he wouldn't press the matter, yet the dwarf persisted.

"You don't appear to be the type who wishes to be troubled," Thorin said to him as gently as he could, "Was it a bad dream?"

"No… it… wasn't a dream." Simba said in response, his voice cracking a bit as he wiped his muzzle. Suddenly the cub felt a large hand on his back as Thorin began to slowly stroke his fur. It calmed him down yet at the same time filled him with more grief. His voice, his touch, his kindness, it was all too much like him. Simba reacted by suddenly pulling away from Thorin and said firmly: "Stop! Ok? Just stop acting like him! You're not him!"

"Not who?" Thorin questioned, a bit taken back by Simba's sudden outburst. The cub couldn't take it anymore. He was so sick of keeping it in. It was tearing him up from the inside and he was sick of it. Not caring anymore, Simba looked up at him with tears in his eyes and his teeth gritted in anger before exclaiming: "YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER!"

A hushed silence filled the living room as Thorin was taken back by Simba's outburst. All he could do was stare down at the child as he had tears streaming down his cheeks and he covered his face with both paws. This of course gave the dwarf more questions than answers, yet it also tugged at his heart a bit. He still knew not of where the lion had come from nor what he had been through, but one thing he did know about this Simba.

He missed his father.

"I'm so sorry…" Simba whimpered as his face was still covered, though it was unclear whether he was saying it to Thorin or someone else. Never the less, the black bearded dwarf took a deep breath before responding.

"No need. I know I'm not. And I wasn't trying to be." Thorin said quietly with a heavy sigh as he looked away towards the fire, "I am truly sorry."

"Why?" Simba whimpered, not wanting to talk to anyone at the moment, "Why are you possibly sorry?" though the cub wasn't expecting a reply, he wasn't expecting what Thorin would say.

"Because I know the feeling of losing a father."

Upon hearing this, Simba slowly pulled his paws away and wiped his face before looking back at Thorin. The dwarf still had his normal expression, yet he continued to gaze into the fire as it flickered.

"You do?" Simba asked, his voice slightly cracking from the crying.

"Indeed…" Thorin replied with a sigh before looking back at the cub, "though it was a long time ago, I miss him… and my homeland." He paused for a moment to look at the lion cub. As they looked at each other's eyes they saw something more than man and beast. They saw pain… a longing… a burden in each other's hearts. Thorin could feel it, and believed Simba could as well.

"I think we may have an understanding then, young cub." Thorin said to him, "We both long for our home."

"Yeah… home…" Simba replied as he looked at the window at the sky once more, "But I can't go back."

"Why?" Thorin asked.

"I just can't! Alright?" Simba snapped, but quickly realized what he said, "Sorry…"

"No. It wasn't my place to pry. We are all have our stories, some good and some bad," Thorin explained as he followed Simba's gaze to the window that showed the night sky, "It is up to us to make them and tell them if we so choose."

Simba didn't quite understand the context of what Thorin had said, but he took it as a way of saying that he did not have to tell Thorin about his past. He didn't speak but rather gave the dwarf a nod before resting his chin on his lap. After this talk, the dwarf had started to grow on him. He first thought these dwarves were rough and rigid, but Thorin now made the young cub realize just how much they actually cared about others. Almost… like a pride.

"Mr. Thorin?"

"Hm?" Thorin raised a brow at the young cub.

"Thanks, for being so nice. It's... nice to talk to someone again." This response made the hard dwarf crack a small smile as he looked at Simba.

"If there is anything you need of me during your stay, don't hesitate to ask." He assured him.

"Well…" Simba yawned in response, "Right now I just wish I could fall asleep."

Thorin scratched his chin when he heard this. The fire was still going and would continue for a while. He may not know much of Simba's kind and their ways, but he knew of one thing that could move all manner of creatures. Standing up from the chair, Thorin walked into the other room while Simba stayed behind and wondered where he was off to. Moments later, Thorin returned with a golden harp in hand. He sat beside the young lion once more and Simba couldn't help but look at the unique instrument as it glistened in the fire and moonlight.

"What's that?" he asked Thorin curiously.

"This is something that will help you sleep." Thorin replied as he got comfortable in the chair, "Though I may not know of your home, master lion, perhaps you would wish to know where I and my people hail from?"

"Hail from?" Simba repeated the rather weird phrasing, "But isn't this your home?"

"This is where we live, but it is not our home… our true home." Thorin replied, "Our true home is a kingdom far away. If you wish, I will share its tale with you." Simba pondered this for a moment, now really intrigued by what Thorin was offering. Seeing that there was nothing better to do he nodded.

"In that case, I wouldn't mind hearing about it then." He answered.

"Very well then." as Thorin's fingers strung the cords of his golden harp. The golden cub flicked his ears as he heard the gentle tune they made. A low noise escapes his throat as he found the harp's melody relaxing and soothing. As he rested his weary head on the dwarf's lap, Thorin began to sing to the lovely music. And as the cub's gaze went to the fire once more, his tired eyes began to see forms take shape. Like buildings, mountains, and people. All the while Thorin sang the song of his homeland.

The song… of the Lonely Mountain.

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_Far over the Misty Mountains cold,  
To dungeons deep and caverns old,  
We must away, ere break of day,  
To seek our pale enchanted gold._

_'_

_The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,  
While hammers fell like ringing bells,  
In places deep, where dark things sleep,  
In hollow halls beneath the fells._

_'_

_For ancient king and elvish lord  
There many a gleaming golden hoard  
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught,  
To hide in gems on hilt of sword._

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_On silver necklaces they strung  
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung  
The dragon-fire, on twisted wire  
They meshed the light of moon and sun._

_'_

_Far over the Misty Mountains cold,  
To dungeons deep and caverns old,  
We must away, ere break of day,  
To claim our long-forgotten gold._

_'_

_Goblets they carved there for themselves,  
And harps of gold, where no man delves  
There lay they long, and many a song  
Was sung unheard by men or elves._

_The pines were roaring on the heights,  
The wind was moaning in the night,  
The fire was red, it flaming spread,  
The trees like torches blazed with light._

_'_

_The bells were ringing in the dale,  
And men looked up with faces pale.  
The dragon's ire, more fierce than fire,  
Laid low their towers and houses frail._

_'_

_The mountain smoked beneath the moon.  
The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.  
They fled the hall to dying fall  
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon._

_'_

_Far over the Misty Mountains grim,  
To dungeons deep and caverns dim,  
We must away, ere break of day,  
To win our harps and gold from him!_

_'_

It wasn't long until soon fell fast asleep on Thorin's lap as the song moved the cub greatly. Thoughts of lands beyond what he once knew filled his mind, along with the excitement of creatures and other mysteries unknown to him. What's more, for the first time in a long time, he had a peaceful night sleep. His Endless night had finally come to an end.

**To be continued...**

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**Well that was moving chapter. Looks like Simba and company have now officially settled into Thorin and company.**

**Yes these last few chapters have been a nice fluff. But come chapter 4... that's when we start to get into some dark and gritty stuff. This is the Hobbit after all. **

**Again, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and let me know what you think about this chapter and my work. I love both positive and negative reviews. It lets me know if I'm doing a good job or if I have to change something. **

**Until next time guys, this is Rogue Lion signing off.**

**(Salutes Audience)**


	5. Chapter 4: Shadows on the Savannah

**Hello again all!**

**I got another chapter for this story out. I've been hitting writers block when it comes to my other content but this next chapter flowed pretty smoothly.**

**Thank you all once again for your support. I'm happy to keep making chapters for you all as long as you keep on leaving reviews and giving feedback.**

**So without further a do, let's see where this journey takes everyone next!**

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**Shadows on the Savannah**

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"Boooooooring!"

The story suddenly stopped as Kopa groaned as he sat around the fire. His siblings and the mandrill eyed the prince with confusion and annoyance.

"Bro, really?" Kion raised a brow at his older brother, "I thought you wanted to hear dad's story."

"Well yeah," Kopa countered, "But I was thinking adventure! Monsters! Daring quests! All we've talked about so far is dad taking a bath and getting brought in by these short monkeys."

"They're dwarves!" Kiara groaned, correcting her brother, "Weren't you paying attention?"

"I kind of lost track after dad getting chased through the kitchen." Kopa answered when suddenly he got knocked on the head with Rafiki's staff. He clutched his head and responded with: "Hey! What was that for?"

"You want ol Rafiki to tell a story? You can't get to a plot until you start at a beginning." Rafiki waved a finger at the impatient cub, "For knowledge to be obtained, you'll have to listen."

This answered earned a huff from the prince, blowing the hair out of his face as he looked at the old monkey. Kopa many times preferred the action and the excitement to the story. Kiara however loved all the fluff and family themes to a story. Kion on the other hand didn't mind either. He just enjoyed seeing where it all goes.

"So…" Kion cleared his throat and tried to get everyone back on track, "What happened after that? Our dad stayed with the dwarves?"

"Indeed he did!" Rafiki chuckled, "de longer Simba stayed, de more he and his friends didn't want to leave. Thorin Oakenshield and Simba had grown close. He began to teach him their ways and their culture. As for Timon and Pumbaa, they found their own reasons to stay as well."

"That's a surprise." Kopa laughed, "Did they have termite mounds there to?"

"No." Rafiki answered, "But de meerkat found many more delicacies in their culture, and with them, the dwarves found an incentive to drive the meerkat to do some odd jobs for them."

"Odd jobs?" Kion asked, "Like what?"

"Delivering letters in the village, making grocery runs for Dis, being a snitch for Thorin, singing at banquets, so forth." Rafiki listed.

"Wait," Kopa stopped him, "We're talking about the same Timon here? The same lazy Hakuna Matata meerkat? Doing work? I don't believe it."

Hehehehehaahahaha!" Rafiki chuckled, "You try saying no when a banquet of food is on de line 3 times a day." Kopa opened his mouth to protest but then stopped. He made a good point actually.

"What about Pumbaa?" Kiara asked.

"Well naturally de warthog was not about to leave his friends behind," Rafiki answered her, "But he soon found out dat he was not de only pig de dwarves liked to keep around."

"Oooooh." Kiara giggled, "Did Uncle Pumbaa have a girlfriend?" Both males made disgusted faces while Rafiki chuckled in response.

"All in good time princess. All in good time." He then sat back down and motioned for them all to come close, "But it is time dat we got back to de story. Since de dwarves took them in, Simba and his friends lived with them for years and years. As time went on, Simba grew along side de sons of Durin. The young prince was active in de lives of Thorin's family, whether it was going on hunts with Kili and Fili, helping de dwarves train with fighting, or acting as a steed for Oakenshield himself, Simba had found himself being adopted into de house of long beards. Though while Simba grew up under the dwarves, his home was in a worse state."

"Oh, that's right! Scar was ruling as king during that time." Kopa realized before growling, "he was a bad lion."

"Indeed young Kopa," Rafiki affirmed, "For it was Scar, not Simba, who was truly responsible for your grandfather's demise. Yet at de time, no one knew dis and believed dat both Simba and his father perished in a tragic accident. As next in line, Scar assumed the throne and ruled alongside Simba's mother Sarabi. During his reign, he would have de species of lions and hyenas coexist. For a time, the species tolerated each other and de Pride Lands were kept hopeful with de queen Sarabi and her young apprentice Nala heading the lionesses."

"That's mom!" Kiara smiled when she heard her mother's name.

"Yes young one," Rafiki petted Kaira, "From cubhood, your mother was groomed to be de next queen and betrothed to Simba. Despite de pride believing de son of Mufasa was no more, dat did not stop Nala from learning how to be queen. For a time, there was a unsettled peace in de land. Yet dat all changed one day."

"What happened? Did Scar do something?" Kopa asked in excitement.

"Somethings, some actions, and yet nothing right." Rafiki said gravely, "It was one matter to try and destroy de rivalry between lion and hyena. Yet Scar soon aligned with a force dat would be de last straw for de pride." Upon hearing this, all three cubs leaned in close to hear better and asked him all at once: "Who?"

Rafiki bent down and as the fire from the candle flickered, he answered them in a dramatic tone: "De Enemy."

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54 Years after Thorin Finds Simba...

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Back in the Pride Lands, the residents had seen better days. Since Scar, son of Ahadi and brother of Mufasa, took the throne the lands have not experienced any heartache. At the same time however, they hadn't experienced any growth in prosperity. Since his rule began, Scar allowed the lesser species of the hyenas to come into the Pride Lands. Both species had rivalry problems in the past, but the new king wanted to mend the rift between them. On the surface this looked like a good thing, bringing the species together, but it caused more problems in the long run with fights and disregard for the law.

Such was the problem that many viewed would be the downfall of the Pride Lands. What no one realized was that this issue would do more harm then anyone could possibly imagine.

Under a nearby acacia tree, a band of 6 lionesses rested under its shade. Among them were the queen Sarabi, her protégé Nala, and Nala's mother who was known as Sarafina. The dry season was settling in, which meant the whether was hot, the plants were dying, and food and water was becoming more scarce.

"Alright everyone," Sarabi announced in a hopeful tone, getting the group's attention, "What do we have today?" Sarafina was the first to stand up.

"We checked the north and western fields," she answered her good friend, "Only a couple of hyraxes and some vultures. No signs of anything worth hunting." This earned a sigh from the queen before she turned to Nala.

"And what of you?" she asked the young lioness, "any luck?"

"A few antelope. Less than before." Nala sighed, "We tried to take them but we've only picked off one from the herd." This caused Sarabi to groan in frustration.

"Which means only our king will eat this evening." Having said that she laid down beside the group. They came around her to comfort her, knowing that she was going through a lot. Many thought she would retire after the accident that claimed the lives of her mate and only son, yet she stood firm and continued to help lead the Pride Lands. All the while she's been butting heads with her in-law king who was doing a poor job at managing his kingdom. How she could continue on for all these decades amazed everyone.

"We'll manage Sarabi," Nala assured her elder, "Like always. We've been through plenty of dry seasons before."

"But none like this one…" Sarabi sighed as she looked up at the cloudless sky, "the rain hasn't fallen in so long. We've been able to work with the herds for so long. But the hyenas constantly infringing on the other's territories… the lack of food… I have a bad feeling about this dry season."

"It's not your fault. It's Scar's!" Sarafina told her good friend passionately, "If he'd get off his tail and-"

"He's been protecting our boarders." Sarabi cut her off, "I know when it comes to diplomatic areas he… struggles. But we haven't had any issues from outsiders since he's come into power."

"Well maybe that's because he invited half of the outsiders into our lands to stay," Sarafina growled, "As if bringing them into our kingdom would undo the damage they've caused us in the past."

"He has his reasons," Sarabi tried to assure her friends and followers, "We just need to help him along and stand strong."

"Face it Sarabi. He's not a leader. He's a brute." Nala told the queen, "He should have stuck with guard duty where he belonged. Why can't you remove-" yet before she could say another word, Sarabi covered Nala's mouth with her paw and gave her a stern glare.

"You know why." She said firmly, "He's the last surviving heir of Mohatu's line. And I will not stand for this type of treasonous talk. Do I make myself clear, Nala?" the cream furred lioness looked at Sarabi with pleading blue eyes. She knew the laws of the Pride Lands, she knew she was being prepared to lead when she was gone, but none of that seemed to matter at that moment. Right now all she knew was that she was hungry, hot, and trying to find a solution to their problems and hitting dead ends in her search for a solution.

"Sarabi… I'm sorry…" She choked as she sat down. Her mother came by her side and hugged her.

"It's ok, dear." Sarafina assured her as she nuzzled her daughter's cheek, "We're all hungry. Don't worry. I'm sure things will get better soo-"

"Sarabi! Sarabi!"

Suddenly the sound of a squawking bird caught their attention. Everyone looked up to see a lioness with a hole in her left ear come running up towards them and she looked frantic.

"What's the matter?" Sarabi stood to her feet and greeted the messenger.

"The antelope herd to the north…" she panted, "All dead!"

This caused the lionesses to look at the messenger in shock.

"Dead?" Nala gasped in horror, "How?"

"How indeed…" Sarabi closed her eyes in pain. This was unacceptable. Food was scarce enough as it was. The last thing they needed was hyenas killing all of the herds they had left. Composing herself, she asked the messenger: "What happened? Was it the hyenas?"

"No…" the messenger shook her head, "Worse."

As she said that, their were shrieks in the distance, monstrous shriek, that belonged to neither man nor beast. It was of something much more… fowler.

"Orcs." Sarabi stated in a hushed tone.

"Orcs?" Sarafina repeated in shock. Orcs had always been an issue. Normally the hyena patrols would catch them and take them out before they could get so close. For a hoard of orcs to get this far into their territory…

"Everyone, with me!" Sarabi declared. The old queen took the lead before being followed by Nala, Sarabi, and the other lionesses with them. The closer they came to the noises, the slower they began to ran and the quieter they became. Soon they got to a ledge that went down into a small valley. Sarabi motioned to the lionesses to stay behind, except for Nala and Sarafina, while she crept to the ledge in order to see what they were up against. Upon looking down, they were met with a ghastly sight.

Nala covered her mouth with her paw, both to keep herself quiet as well as to process what she was seeing. Down below were these creatures who carried themselves like slumped over monkeys, but their ears were pointy, their skin were green and decaying, they wore tattered clothing and armor, and their stench was that of rotten flesh. Nala had heard stories of these evil creatures but she had never seen one in real life until today. She and her mother watched as these orcs were piling up carcasses of the deer they killed while others proceeded to skin them.

"Filthy beasts…" Sarafina said in a hushed growl, "That hyena patrol guarding the boarder better be dead or so help me I'll-"

"Enough Sarafina," Sarabi told her sternly but quietly, "We'll report this to Scar, but while we are here it's best if we take these orcs out now before they get further into our territory. Go and ready the others. Nala, I'll need you with me." Sarafina nodded before sneaking back to ready the other 6. Her daughter, however, looked a bit concerned. All she could see was the carnage these creatures caused and the terrifying, obscure swords and hatchets they possessed.

"Sarabi… I'm not sure about this." Nala whispered to her elder, "There's so many of them. I count at least 17. We're outnumbered."

"But not outmatched," Sarabi told the young female, "Listen young one and listen well, orcs may be fierce but their strength is only found in numbers. They are vile cowards and clumsy oafs who fall easily when separated from the main force. We don't need to attack them head on, only pick them off like a weak zebra from the herd. Stay close and follow my lead. We'll overcome them, just trust in your pride."

Nala took in a deep breath and took Sarabi's words to heart. She did not fear for herself, for her training included fighting. Yet she would fight no lion or hyena, but never a foe such as this. Never the less she trusted in her pride sisters and her queen and was ready and willing for what they were about to do.

Down below, one of the orcs stopped what he was doing and twitched his head around in confusion. He began to sniff the air like an animal, which caught the attention of the commanding orc. He approached the grunt and addressed him in their foul language: Black Speech.

"_What is it?"_ he gruffly asked.

"_The wild cats are near."_ The grunt replied.

Suddenly a mighty chorus of roars sounded, defining everyone and causing the group of orcs to stop what they were doing and looking up in shock and fear. They began to grunt and growl, crack and smash, howl and squawk as they scrambled for their bows and swords and other weapons.

"_They've found us!"_ the head orc announced, _"To arms! If they fight, we will slaughter them. We will reach their king by any means necessary!"_

Suddenly there was a rustle in the nearby tall grass, causing the orcs nearby to lunge at it rustle only for his blade to hit nothing. He looked around, wondering where the beast was. Yet as he looked back at his people, he gets pulled down and disappears into the long grass. All the orcs could hear was the squeals of their soldier, followed by the sounds or growls and flesh being sliced. Then there was silence.

"_Stand your ground!"_ the commander exclaimed, _"Archers at the ready!"_

At the back of the camp, 3 archers got their bows at the ready and aimed at where the movements in the grass was taking place. They would open fire the moment long grass moved once more yet that time never came.

"Now! Together!"

Suddenly the archers were flanked as Sarabi charged from behind with Nala and Sarafina taking up the rear. The archers tried to turn and face their attackers. One was able to fire an arrow at Sarafina yet the lioness moved nimbly out of the way before launching towards the archer and sliced his neck with a clean slice from her paw. The other 2 were taken out in similar fashion with Sarabi biting her orc's neck and ripping it out while Nala sliced hers across the face.

The remaining 13 orcs turned to face the 3 lionesses, watching as Sarabi stepped forward to the group.

"Turn back and leave the Pride Lands," Sarabi declared, "There is nothing here for your kind." The commander roared something in his dark tongue, yet the moment he did Sarabi's eyes widened. Nala didn't know what the orc said, but she could tell that Sarabi did.

"What's wrong?" she asked her, yet Sarabi didn't answer her question.

"Take them out, now!" she exclaimed. The orcs suddenly charged at the lionesses, yet before they could get to them, the other 6 lionesses charged from both sides of the long grass and descended upon the orcs. The massive cats fought with the foul creatures as roars and howls of battle filled the air. Sarabi however ran through the group to try and get to the commanding orc.

"Sarabi!" Sarafina called out as she and her daughter tried to run after the queen, but orcs cut them off, "Nala, say close!"

While they fought, the commander drew his blade and ran at Sarabi and tried to hack the old lionesses' head clean off, yet she was nimble and ducked before unsheathing her claws and slicing him across his armored torso. They battled, the commander keeping up with the queen as blade and claw parried blow for blow. Yet suddenly the head orc saw an opening and attempted to slice her across the face. Yet before the blade could land, Sarabi turned and caught it in her mouth, causing the creature's smug expression to turn into one of disbelief.

With a mighty snap, the lioness shattered the poor blade in her might jaws, causing the commander to stumble onto the ground before the superior beast. Looking back he saw the remainder of his men being torn apart by the remaining lionesses. None of them had perished though many now had clear injuries.

Now the commander realized why they were sent here. These beasts were as mighty as they were told.

"We… we did it." Nala said in disbelief as she looked around at the bloody aftermath, "We won!"

"Not yet we haven't." Sarabi replied as she looked back at the wounded commander orc. Feebly, he tried to crawl away from Sarabi, yet the lioness walked behind him before slamming her paw onto the orc's back to pin him. She then lowered her jaws in an attempt to clamp down around the orc's neck and kill him but before she could, the sound of laughing stopped her.

"Well well Banzai what do we have here?"

"Hmmm, I don't know Shenzi. What do you think Ed?"

"Oooh heheh. Ohh ahahahah!"

The lionesses formed up behind Sarabi while across from them three hyenas approached the group with another dozen coming behind them. It was Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, Scar's head hyenas and his most trusted followers. Sarabi growled at them as she kept the orc pinned.

"Shenzi!" Sarabi exclaimed in anger, "You left our boarders unguarded! When Scar hears of this-"

"Sarabi!" Shenzi greeted with a bright smile as she observed the pile of dead orcs and dear behind the lionesses, "I can see the hunt was successful for once. Ha!"

"Don't change the subject! You're kind has gone too far this time! One of us could have been killed!" Sarabi growled.

"Don't get your tail in a knot, queeny." Shenzi snickered, "We've been monitoring these freaks for a long time. These aren't like the others. They're… organized in a way."

"They all need to die!" Sarabi growled yet before she could do anything the other hyenas growled and took a few steps towards her. The lionesses in return came up behind Sarabi to protect her. The tension became tense but suddenly the orc broke the silence.

"Scar!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing. The orc actually said something they understood.

"What did it just say?" Nala gasped in disbelief.

"Need… to see… King... Scar." The orc struggled to speak in the common tongue. Sarabi looked concerned by this but the hyenas looked rather calm. Shenzi and Banzi came up to her.

"It would seem as though this little pest wishes to see the king," Banzai grinned at Sarabi who realized that she couldn't withhold an audience from the king when a creature requested it, even one as foul as an orc.

"What's it gonna be Sarabi?" Shenzi said with an obnoxious smirk, "Honor this orc's request, or take matters into your own paws?"

**To Be Continued...**

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**And so we transition to the Pride Lands for this next chapter!**

**Don't worry though, Come chapter 5 we'll finally be getting into the actual Hobbit story.**

**Hope you all enjoyed and if you did then please let me know what you think in the review section. I always appreciate your feedback and want to know what your true thoughts on the story. **

**With that being said guys, this has been Rogue Lion signing off.**

**(Salutes the Audience.)**


	6. Chapter 5: Kings and the Future

**Hello everyone! Hope you're all having an amazing day!**

**Been working on a lot of college stuff including scripts, animations, and voice overs, but I was able to squeeze some time in to get you all another chapter of Lion of Durin! Next chapter I should be working on and getting out is one for "In a Perfect World" so if you haven't checked out that Lion King Story I highly advise you give it a read so you're caught up on everything. **

**And With that being said, enjoy!**

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_**Chapter 5: Kings and the Future**_

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While Sarabi was deciding on what to do with the prisoner, back at Pride Rock, the current Lion King was doing what he did most days: lounge around the den and take in his splendor.

"Zazu? Why am I not loved?" A mangy lion with a slick black mane asked his advisor, a hornbill by the name Zazu, while he lounged on an elevated rock. The small blue bird looked up at the male with a rather displeased look. Arrogant fur-bag did nothing but lounge around the den, eating his fill of flesh before throwing the bones all across the floor. The place was a mess with all manner of animal carcasses. Never the less, the bird composed himself and spoke to the lion with as much control as he could muster.

"Simple, sire." Zazu replied with a sharp sigh as he tossed out another handful of bones from the room, "Everything in the kingdom has gone to Mordor." Though he used a hypothetical term, the king didn't seem to really care about complaints.

"Oh, pish posh," Scar replied as he stood up and stretched his legs, "All that matters is how I feel." He then proceeded to tap his chin as he reflected on where he was and what he had. It had been so long since he took the throne over from his brother. At the time he was a lowly second born prince to a kingdom and the uncle to a young tyke, having no clear path to the throne. Yet a hop, skip, and a tragedy later here he was, a king of a grand land. As he smiled as the reflected, Zazu came over with a serious face. For where Scar saw good things, Zazu only saw problems.

"We are currently going through the worst drought in the history of the Savannah!" Zazu said, yet Scar seemed to be in his own little world.

"I'm warm… sensitive… caring." He mused out loud.

"Hyenas are prancing around like they own the place!"

"I tell a joke like nobody's business."

"The herds are threatening to leave our borders completely!"

"Yet something is still missing. Hmmm…. Whatever could it be?"

"YOUR GRASP ON REALITY!" Zazu exclaimed in utter frustration as he flew up to address Scar eye to eye, "Do something before the Pride Lands go completely down the dump! Now if Mufasa was still alive he would-"

"Oh, shut up!" Scar didn't take much value in what the bird was telling him, but the moment he uttered the name of his late brother, Scar's temper. In an instant he snatched the horn-bill out of the air and held him by his beak. Zazu, reminded once more who he was talking to, gave a nervous look as he dangled in the lion's paw.

"Consider it shut." He said meekly, which caused Scar to chuck him aside as if he was trash and have him land in a pile of bones. The lion then began to pace back and forth in the royal den like a restless animal. No matter how much he does for the kingdom, no matter how far he goes, he never could seem to escape the shadow of the king who came before him.

"Mufasa, Mufasa, Mufasa. That's all anyone ever talks about. I'm sick to death of him!" he growled in frustration, "What did he have that I lack?"

"Nothing," Zazu said as he climbed out of the bone pile and shook off the dust and debris from his feathers, "You lack nothing at all. Except a few… minor things." The royal advisor then proceeded to list all of what Scar seemingly lacked, much to the king's annoyance. He began with: "A plentiful kingdom, respect of your species, a loving family, a devoted queen; shall I go on sire?" The bird was having a grand time prodding at the pompous cat, thinking that he touched more than enough nerves for today. Yet to Zazu's surprise, Scar was no longer frowning but rather he was smiling.

"Yes… yes!" he said out loud to himself, "That's what I need! A queen!"

"Ah-a-a-a, qu-what?" Zazu stuttered in shock.

"Yes… someone to stand by me. Help me run the kingdom, enforce my rules!" Scar said happily, "I am the last son of Ahadi, a mighty family who's brought our people out of the clutches of extinction. Without a queen, what am I to my predecessors? I'd be a dead end, no line, no decedents, no future! With a queen I'll have-"

"Your highness!"

Suddenly Scar was snapped out of his trance as he and Zazu heard Sarabi call for him. They looked back and saw her, but was surprised with who followed her. With the elderly lioness was Shenzi and together they brought with them an orc who had his hands bound with vines.

"An orc? An orc! In the Pride Lands?!" Zazu exclaimed in terror as he took flight to hide behind Scar. He cared not if the lion protected him, but if the orc escape at least Scar would have a royal treat before chasing after a scrawny bird like himself. Though Scar seemed more interested in the one who brought the creature rather than the creature itself.

"Ah… Sarabi. Your timing couldn't have been more perfect." Scar stated as he slicked back his mane and watched them approached him.

"Scar this is serious. A pack of orcs made it past the outer boarders of the Pride Lands." Sarabi pressed, "Your hyenas have not been doing their job! Our kingdom is-"

"And where is this pack of orcs now?" Scar cut her off and glared at them all, his lazed expression from before now having a serious look about it.

"We've dispatched them, save for this wretch, but-"

"Then I don't see what all the fuss is about." Scar interrupted her again, "If the threat has been dealt with then there is no longer a threat to worry about. It's all rather logical really."

"Logical?" Sarabi scoffed at this statement before responding in a angered tone, "You threw out all logic when you decided to bring the hyenas into our ranks! Nothing but trouble has befallen our lands since!"

"Hey!" Shenzi snapped in response to Sarabi's remark, "I'm standing right here you know?"

"Then make yourself useful for once and leave!" snarled the lioness.

"Enough!"

Both of them stopped as they heard Scar's voice suddenly rupture. The dark lion glanced back and forth between them, his emerald eyes narrowed at Shenzi in disapproval, but he dared not look that way towards Sarabi. She could be of use to him… for she still held much influence over the Pride Lands. Yes… she would be perfect. They have ruled the Pride Lands in their own ways for many years, but together… they would be unstoppable.

"Did you come here just to show off your successes and faults or is there something else you desire from me?" he asked them. Sarabi glared once more at the head hyena before letting out a disgruntle sigh. This was not the time and place for such things, there were more important matters to deal with.

"This… thing, has also requested an audience with you." Sarabi spat as she shoved the orc forward, causing it to fall on its knees before Scar. The orc snickered before looking up at Scar with a mocking expression on his face. Scar looked unimpressed by him.

"You'll soon perish either way before the day is done." he told the orc, "Might as well give me a sound reason not to take your life, unless of course your intent was for my people to slaughter you, then by all means show your neck and let's get this over with."

"We've come not to fight," the orc said in the common tongue, "But on behalf of our master."

This response earned a rather interested look from Scar. The king looked at his subjects and told them: "You've done well. That'll be all." This caused everyone to look at the black maned lion in surprise, even Zazu. Lion or no lion, you don't just stay in a room alone with an orc.

"Y-You sure?" the horn-bill asked as he peeked out behind Scar, "Perhaps one of us could-"

"THAT… will be all." Scar repeated with emphasis, getting his point across. The horn-bill immediately took flight out of the royal den, slowly being followed by the hyena Shenzi. Sarabi would walk out last but not before Scar addressed her.

"You know, after this is over, perhaps you can I can talk about the future of the Pride. Say, over dinner?" though Scar said it like a gentleman, Sarabi sighed and looked back at him with a glare.

"You should already know the answer by now, Scar." She said in a cold tone with pain in her voice, "You will never be Mu-" yet before she could even speak the word Scar snapped his jaws in front of her face and his eyes narrowed at hers.

"Don't… say… that… NAME!" Scar seethed, his face contorted from a calm and collected look to a scrunched up, furious expression. Mufasa this, Mufasa that, why can't these idiots just let him be dead and move on? He gruffly waved for Sarabi to be gone from his sight, earning a sigh from the queen before she obeyed and walked out, leaving him alone with the orc. Sarabi kept her composure, despite what Scar just did. There was a time she might have liked him… once… but that was a long time ago, under a different sun. He was no longer the noble defender she once knew. She accepted this long ago, but it did not stop a tear from rolling down her cheek as she left him along with the creature.

"_Heheh… this is it? This is the Lion King my master sent me to find?"_ the orc spoke up in his black speech, amused by the drama he witnessed, _"Can't even manage his own people properly."_ Scar looked back at the orc, causing the creature to smirk. He figured this fool of a lion couldn't understand him, but what happened next surprised him.

"_A lowly creature like you…"_ Scar spoke, talking in the black speech of the orcs, _"Does not have the right to even breath the same air as me." _The orc's eyes widened, realizing his mistake in words. He tried to offer an apology but it was too late.

Scar then unsheathed his claws and slashed the orc across the face, causing it the screech in pain and grab his face with his hands. His cocky attitude was replaced with fear and surprise.

"_You… you understand me?"_ the orc gasped as he lifted his bloody face out of his hands.

"_Yes…" _Scar lowered his head down in front of the orc's face and stared at him with his emerald green eyes, _"Your foul speech is just one of many I've acquired over the years. I didn't get where I am today by sitting around doing nothing. Everything I do is for a reason my friend. Now… give me a reason not to kill you here and now." _Realizing that he had overstepped his bounds, the orc raised his hands up shakily and pleaded with the powerful beast.

"A-a thousand pardons oh mighty one…" he shriveled, now speaking common speak, "No disrespect was intended. I simply bare a message from my master. He sees how your land is dying."

"And?" Scar growled, "What could a pack of orcs possibly want from me, besides a quick death?"

"Land… food… water… a kingdom like no other in the world."

Upon this answer, Scar raised his brow in interest. Orcs weren't exactly the brightest creatures out there, nor the most ambitious. He expected a death threat or a request for passage through the Pride Lands, but this? His curiosity had been peeked.

"And do tell," Scar put his muzzle in front of the orc, breathing down his neck.

"All this, my master offers unto you," the orc stated as he had his hands in front of his face, shriveling in fear of the beast, "We simply require a head."

"Don't try my patients orc! Your answer only offers another question!" Scar snarled as he glared at him with his piercing emerald green eyes, "Who's head?"

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Far away in the Blue Mountains, laid the realm of Ered Luin. It was a dwarven settlement founded by Thorin after his people were purged from their old kingdom of Erebor. There the dwarves lead a simple life mining and not getting involved with the ways of the world. A simple life for a simple people. Yet today many in the small kingdom could feel a shift in the winds. Something was happening… though what they did not know.

In the town hall, Thorin Oakenshield was meeting with members from all 7 dwarf families to discuss a matter of great importance concerning their homeland. Outside the halls meanwhile the leader's steeds waited in the stalls. Some had ponies, others had rams, one even road in on a giant boar, but in the final stall there rested a lion. His fur shone like a vein of gold and his thick mane was as red as a spring rose. This was the steed of Thorin Oakenshield: Simba the Strong.

Growing up with Oakenshield, Simba had found a new home among the dwarves. During his youth he acted more as something of a watch cat, making sure the brothers Fili and Kili stayed out of trouble; yet as time progressed, he grew in great size and strength. It got to the point where he could no longer walk into the family home, but he was treated as family all the same. It showed in his appearace as well, with his ears having iron rings pierced into them and having a dwarven rune of …. Tattooed to his forehead. His mane as well had grown thick around his head and chest, so much so that many strands were weaved into braids

For once he didn't feel like a wanderer in a strange land but a member of a new family… a new clan… a new pride.

"They sure are taking their sweet time in there, aren't they?"

Simba flicked his ears as he picked his head up and looked at the sow in the next stall over. Though the lion understood the common tongue, he was of course still an animal and therefor could speak the tongue of other animals. He eyed the sow, seeing that it was the war boar of Thorin's cousin: Dain Iron Foot of the Iron Hills. Like her rider, the boar could get a bit impatient went things don't get resolved quickly.

"I'm sure it won't be much longer, Rulgna." Simba yawned as he addressed the sow by her name before standing up and stretching in his stall, "You know how stubborn dwarves can get when they but heads together on matters such as these."

"Perhaps…" the war hog Rulgna replied with a disgruntle snort, "But the rest of us must wait in these stalls doing nothing but wallow in the hay and filth like common cattle."

Simba did not respond but rather lounged back down in his stall to rest, knowing that his strength would be needed for the journey ahead. This action made Rulgna hit his gate with her head to get his attention, feeling to boredom get to her and requiring something to do.

"Don't just fall asleep, you lazy bum!" she squealed, "I can't stay here much longer! Being cooped up in this place makes me restless!"

"What is it you want from me?" Simba raised an eye and looked at her,

"You got claws, don't ya kitty cat? Use em!" she grunted, "Pick my stall's lock."

"If I do then, you'll just run into the hall and disrupt the meeting."

"So, can you do it?"

"No!"

The hog let out another disgruntle grunt, annoyed by how stubborn the lion was being. She proceeded to once again lay down in her stall while giving Simba the stink eye. Suddenly there was a loud and angry cry that caused the lion, the war hog, and the other ponies in the room to all pick up their heads. Entering the stall was Thorin Oakenshield himself and his face was contorted into a menacing scowl as he stomped towards Simba's pen.

"So, how'd it go?" Simba asked in the common tongue. His reply was met by Thorin kicking a nearby water bucket so hard it flew across the room. Simba realized what that meant as he gritted his teeth and replied: "That bad, huh?"

"None of my kin will head my call." Thorin stated gruffly as he undid the stall and let Simba out, much to the war hog's envy, "Nothing less than the king's jewel itself will persuade them otherwise." Simba stepped out and allowed Thorin to proceed to put a saddle on him. Though the lion preferred the bare back experience, this journey they were going on would be a long one and Thorin needed his full strength.

"Good luck you big kitten! Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" Rulgna snorted, earning an amused look from the lion who nodded in response. Leaving his friend back in the pig pen, Simba carried Thorin out of the stalls and towards the woods where they would begin their journey south to meet up with the others.

"Well my friend," Thorin sighed as he rode the lion down the beaten path into the wilds beyond Erid Luin, "It would seem as though we are taking this journey alone."

"You're not alone, Thorin." Simba told him, trying to comfort the dwarf, "You still have us."

"Thirteen dwarves, a lion, and two idiots won't be enough to take back the mountain." Thorin replied. Simba frowned at this statement, not really enjoying the pessimistic statement, though he couldn't blame him. These past few months had been rough on them both. One moment they were chasing rumors about a lost dwarf then the next they were running into a wizard.

"And a burglar," Simba added, "That's the reason we're heading south, is it not? To meet with Gandalf and the thief?"

"Aye," Thorin replied with a sigh, "At least there was one good thing that came from our running with the Grey Wizard."

"Progress to get your homeland back?"

"No," Thorin cracked a smile, "Getting that rat and pig to go with him to the Shire."

**To Be continued**

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**Tada! Chapter 5! Next one should be in the shire, guaranteed! And also give an explanation to how Thorin and Simba know Gandalf and why Timon and Pumbaa are with him. (Can't post everything out at once like a book. So Just bare with me. lol.)**

**Please leave your comments in the section to give feedback and let me know what you think. I really love your feedback. And with that being said guys, this has been Rogue Lion. Signing off**

**(Salutes Readers)**


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